Rust on the Lock
by WonderlandSyndrome
Summary: The sweetest words come from the sharpest fangs. - LexZex & Fan-Children Vampire Fic.
1. Children of Bedlam

**Main Characters/Pairings:** Lexaeus/Zexion, Lex, Maximus **Rating/Warnings:** M/Homosexual activity, violence, distressing issues, fan-children, vampire AU.

This fic was inspired by my favourite vampire novel _Let the Right One In_. Lex and Maximus are fan-replicas (here, fan-children) that I created. Each chapter will have a song associated with it, which is always shown at the top of the page. This chapter's track is _Children of Beslan _by Steven Cravis.

* * *

**Rust on the Lock.**

**Chapter 1.**

**Children of Bedlam.**

The kitchen is engulfed in the strong aroma of crushed garlic, diced onion and ripe tomatoes. It's very warm in here; a coating of condensation is on the little window, blurring the vision of blackness in the evening outside. Manicotti pasta is bubbling in a pot of boiling water over the hob, and two bowls are set out on the counter, wanting to be filled for an evening dinner

It's almost six o'clock in the evening during the wintertime. The sky is a black slate, with small stars trying to shine on throughout the misty clouds. A waxing, crescent moon smiles down with a Cheshire cat grin, promising more cold to come with a chance of snow.

In this little two-bedroom flat, Lexaeus is shuffling around the kitchen, doing some of the washing-up, watching the pots boil as he half-listens to the radio. He is a broad-shouldered, chiselled type of guy in his late thirties, with wavy, earthy-brown hair and dark, warm blue eyes. His giant mass makes the already small kitchen seem even more miniature, and it seems surprising that he could even fit in this small space at all.

He was listening a radio drama, but he has lost track of the voices and only picks up on bits and pieces of the dialogue. As he takes the kettle off the heat, a news update comes on. He pays actual attention to the radio this time and turns up the volume. A lady with a posh, well-trained voice is speaking at the moment, giving the listeners the latest buzz:

"_-the town's Christmas lights will be lit up in a fortnight's time by Lord Mayor Ansem. All are welcome in the festivities. Back to our main story today; the police are still investigating the murder of a young woman that was found in the border-lining woods of the city of Midgar, the village of Kalm and the town of Radiant Gardens. _

_"The woman was found in the early hours of this morning, strung up by her feet from a tree, her throat slit and her body drained of most of her blood. Due to the lack of blood at the scene, it's suspected that the murderer collected and escaped with the blood. Radiant Gardens' chief of police, Squall Leonhart, spoke at a press conference about the murder earlier today."_

Lexaeus knows Squall from his own days labouring in the police force, but the boy was only a cadet then. He had really shot up the ranks since then. On the radio, a recording of the young man's confident voice starts to speak. There is a sound of camera shutters in the background:

"_It is obvious that we are dealing with not just a cold-blooded killer, but with a professional. Whoever this person is, they have not left any clues, and have left the scene clean of existence. It's… almost like no one was there at all. The police forces of Midgar, Kalm and the Gardens are pulling together to work on this case and track down the one responsible of this terrible act, but we must stress the danger that we are facing here. The murderer may strike again and he will likely be targeting women in their early and mid-twenties, so we strongly suggest that women of that age group avoid going out after dark, especially in the woods, and if you must do that, go out in a group of people. _

_"Although there is a suspected victim target, we want to say that no one should be reckless. The murderer may move on to other types of victims so please be careful out there, and report any suspicious behaviour to the police… As for the girl that was discovered this morning, we are still trying to identifying her, and as soon as we do, we will contact her next-of-kin… Our hearts go out to her family at this time…"_

He sounded like he meant the last part with all of his heart. The news-reporter's voice comes back on:

"_We will continue following this story and inform you as it developed. Now a weather update: the temperature will continue to drop during the weekend, with highs of only five degrees centigrade and lows reaching to minus one, with a big chance of heavy snowfall during the coming week. You are tuned to FM Garden, and now for the easy-listening hour-"_

Lexaeus turns off the radio with a small sigh. How grisly. Not just this murder but all murders that are covered by the media. They were always talked about without much emotion. Granted, news reporter are not meant to put their own personal options into news reports and they are meant to keep neutral for the audience to come to their own ideas on the matter, but how can you talk about a murder then move on seamlessly onto talking about the weather? It must take a strong will to do that. Squall too must have a lot of nerve to deal with this case, to look for a murderer killing young girls in such a gruesome method. Lexaeus couldn't do that anymore. He's grown soft. He is still brave when the moment needs it, but after leaving the force, he doesn't need to be the tough one anymore.

He had to leave anyway. He was getting on in years, feeling stressed and a bullet to the knee was the icing on the cake. He can walk fine now, but he can't run properly. He thought he was becoming inadequate for that lifestyle and left, even when they offered him an easy office job. He had too many ghost in that place, too many reasons for him to leave.

"I'm home, Dad!"

And then there is another reason completely.

Lexaeus smiles slightly, taking another drink of tea as the front door closes with a bang and a set of feet come clumping down the hallway.

"Where are you, Dad?"

"In the kitchen, Lex" the man calls back. He walks over to the cooker and stirs a pot of sauce simmering. "Don't bother running off to your room. Dinner's almost ready."

Lex dumps his coat and school bag into the hallway closet, and walks into the kitchen, pulling off his gloves and hat. He runs a hand through his long brunet curls, relived to be indoors in the warmth again.

"It's a bit brisk out there," he huffs with a smile. He pours himself a cup of tea and shoves in a lot of sugar with a lot of milk. "I can't even feel my toes."

"Well, it is December, Lex" Lexaeus smirks. He is now draining the pasta over the sink. "…The news said that it's meant to snow later this week. Maybe you will have a snow day soon. Do a quick favour for me and set the table properly, will you?"

"I rather have an early holiday then a random day off" the boy says. He puts out two table mats and gets knives, forks and spoons out of the drawer. "That would be better... When are we going to put up the decorations?"

"In the next few days if you want." Lexaeus ladles an overly-generous amount of red sauce onto the two bowl of pasta and carries them over to the table, giving his young son his food first. "Here you go."

"Thanks, Dad." Lex tucks in straight away, eating a completely boyish, messy way, getting some of the tomato around his mouth and licking it away. Lexaeus eats more slowly, taking his time. He shakes his head at the boy.

"Do you actually taste that as you scoff it down?"

"Mm-hmm." Lex swallows his mouthful, and smiles across the table. "It's very yummy, Dad."

"Nice to know my effects have not gone to waste" the man sighs. "And at least you are using a fork." He pulls a tissue out of his pocket and passes it across the table. "Wipe your mouth, you mucky cub."

"I'm not a mucky" Lex tells him. "I am just enjoying your food."

"That is no excuse. Now come on. Clean yourself up, and use _human-sized _bites. Don't wolf it down."

"Alright." Lex takes the tissue and tries to wipe the red away before it drips down his chin.

**OOO**

The streetlamps are just blurs against the dark sky. Stringed between them are simple Christmas lights, twinkling innocently above the street. The taxi is roaring down the road at a steady pace, and it is the only vehicle on the road at this time of night. It's calm. It is peaceful.

There are droplets of condensation on the window, and Zexion reaches out and wipes some of it off, so he has a large peephole to look through. There are a lot of houses on the street, some of them already dressed-up for Christmas, with pretty lights and holly hanging on the front doors. It is picturesque in a way, like a seasonal card.

The man leans back. He likes the backseat. He always closes the window that separates the front seats from the back, to block out the crackling of the radio. He looks to his right, towards the other seat, towards the little boy drawing faces on the other window with his tiny fingers. He's half-humming, half-mumbling a song to himself.

""Oranges and lemons" say the Bells of St. Clements'. "You owe me five farthings" say the Bells of St. Martin's…"

Zexion chuckles to himself. That is such as old-fashioned rhyme nowadays. An oldie. An old-timer of nursery rhythms. He was singing that when he has little. Slowly, the young man slides across the seat over to the child's side of the car, not needing to unfasten any seatbelts to wrap his arms around the lad's slim waist comfortably, resting his chin lightly on his shoulder. He brushes his pale lips against the shell of a ear.

"We are almost there, Maxi," he whispers smoothly to the boy, a smile on his mouth. "We will soon be there, indoors and safe." He looks up at the window. He can see their reflections in the glass, and the child is meeting his glance, his eyes, smiling back. "I would be nice to settle down again, won't it?"

Maxi nods his head in agreement, snuggling up against his father like a slate-furred kitten to its mother. He finishes his nursery rhyme, mumbling it into Zexion's jumper.

"Here comes a candle to light you to bed. Here comes a chopper to chop off your head. Chip chop, chip chop - the last man's dead…"

**OOO**

Lexaeus is starting to feel a little tired, head lolling back against the battered sofa, a warm glass of red wine and spiced rum in the clasp of his right hand. His left hand is stroking the curls of his son's hair lazily. Lex is lying down across the rest of the sofa, head resting on his dad's lap. He is dressed for bed already, in his up-most favourite winter pjs - the bottle green ones, with long sleeves and made from 100% breathable cotton. Lex has never understood why it's called "breathable" when the cotton is not alive, but it is supposed to mean that the fabric is light and doesn't make you too hot. Not that Lex wants to be cold.

After the satire panel show they were watching finishes, the late night news comes on, with the top story being the murder in the woods. Lexaeus sighs with a slight grunt, closing his eyes, trying to block out the sounds and noise of the news report, trying to escape from the grim happening of the world for just a moment. He knows that the world is not a nice place, not nice at all. Sometimes it can be a real cesspool of sin and cruel people and he _defiantly_ knows that you cannot hide for it all permanently but he would like to not have all the doom and gloom shoved into his attention all the time.

"How old was the girl, Dad?"

Lexaeus opens his eyes again. Lex has twisted around onto his back, so he is looking up towards the man's face. His hair is now even more tousled then before. His expression is a curious one, if nothing else.

"…Hmm?"

"The girl. The one they found in the woods. How old was she?"

"…Um. Early twenties, I think" Lexaeus shrugs. How disgusting to have a life that young destroyed like that. Twenty is nothing. That is a child.

"I guess the woods won't be safe for a while, right?" Lex shrugs, sitting up and turning around, so he is up against the man's side, head now resting against his broad chest, "with the murderer and everything." A large hand is drawn up to pull him closer, the other puts the glass down on the table and joins in, holding the boy tightly.

"I don't want you to go into the woods at all" Lexaeus grumbles, closing his heavy eyes. "Especially at night, and I don't want you to be out in the streets after-dark by yourself. You need to be with either me or one of the other grown-ups. Understand, Lex?"

"Yes, Dad. I understand."

"I know you know it's not a nice world out there but you need to be extra careful now. No talking to strange people. If someone approaches you, you come home and tell me straight away, and you need to carry your mobile with you all the time, battery fully charged and with enough credit on it."

"I know, Dad."

"…Am I being an overprotective, un-cool father again?"

"Nah. I understand, Dad. You just want me safe, right?"

"Right." Lexaeus finds the remote control on the side table and turns off the television. He stretches a little. "Come on. It's bedtime. You have school tomorrow and I don't want you falling asleep during your lessons."

"Okay" Lex chuckles. He kisses the man's forehead, which makes both of them smile. "Night-night."

"Good night, Lex."

With that, Lex pads off to his bedroom. He likes his room. It's small but cool. He even has a big, comfy bed all to himself. The boy smiles to himself, bouncing around lightly on his toes as he crosses the floor, wondering if he should read something or play on his game station to help him get to sleep. He switches on his bedside lamp and goes over to the window to close his curtains, but then he pauses. He can see a licensed taxi driving into the courtyard of the apartment complex. It's nothing completely out the ordinary, but it is awfully late for a Thursday night, isn't it? Normally people use the taxi service to go and enjoy the nightlife of Midgar, but that was reserved for the weekend and holidays.

Lex watches, resting his forehead against the chilled pane of glass as the car pulls over in front of the building opposite, where the even smaller apartments are. The taxi driver gets out and goes around to the boot of the car to start pulling out the heavy luggage bags. From the left side back door, the one that Lex can see, a man steps out. He is a very young looking man, pale and skinny, with a mop of blue-slate hair on his cranium hiding most his face. He holds the door open as someone else climbs out. It is a young boy, younger then Lex by a couple of years. As far as Lex can tell from up on the top floor, he is a spitting image of the young man; long hair, pale skin and everything. Very likely, they are brothers. Possibly, they are father and son, but it is hard to tell and it is not nice to jump to conclusions. Lex knows that.

With everything out of the taxi, the young man pays for the ride and the driver gets back into the car, making his way out of the courtyard and out of sight. Now Lex sees that the new arrivals are not wearing much. They have long sleeved-clothing but they don't look very warm for a night like this. The child is wearing a coat, but it's unzipped and open to the bitter wind. They gather up their belongings, all they have in those couple of bags, and walk to the door. The man puts in his key, artfully without dropping anything, and they go inside, closing the door behind them.

Lex stays at the window for a moment, blinking slowly and thinking. Why would someone move in during the middle of the night, and with very little belongings too? Maybe they are poor, or couldn't bring everything with them. Lex can't say for sure.

For some reason, Lex doesn't feel like staying up for any longer. He carefully draws the curtains shut and walks over to the bed. He tucks himself in, being old enough to do it by himself for a few years now, and turns off his little lamp. A crack between the curtains lets some of the moonlight leak in, so not everything is lost in darkness but frozen in a silver light.

The boy lies down on his side, looking up at the photographs he has on his table. He smiles at the one of him and his dad, taken when he was about six years old. He's eating cake with lots of frosting, so it might have been his birthday. Drossiness slowly takes over and Lex yawns, closing his eyes. His vision goes black.

**OOO**

Zexion turns the key in the lock and pushes the front door open, dumping his weighted bags in the hallway. He looks around the place ruefully, checking out the rooms and switching on the lights. It's the bare-back basics: a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom and one bedroom. It was a place for an overworked student or a single loner. They are some furnishings, so it's not so bad. He walks into the bedroom and looks over it. There is one double bed with all the sheets, a desk and a wardrobe. Maxi walks in after him with the key in his hand.

"I've locked the door, Papa."

"Thank you." Zexion takes the key with a smile. "Make yourself comfortable, little one. Get your pyjamas on if you want."

Maxi nods his head and wanders out of the room again, only to quickly return with his favourite set of night clothes; the blue, stripy ones that a size too big for him. He strips off his outdoor clothes by the bed and gets ready for sleep.

"So this is where we are staying?" the boy mumbles, doing up his shirt buttons. Zexion nods his head, staring out of the window absently. They are on the top floor, looking over the whole of the courtyard. He looks across the way, towards the building on the other side. The apartment parallel to theirs still has some of its light on. He can see an outline of a large person walking past the windows to closing curtains.

"It is" Zexion smiles, answering his son, "for now." He turns around in time to see Maxi climb into the bed and snuggle himself in. "You are going to bed already?" He walks over and sits down on the mattress. "It's not your bedtime, silly."

"I need the catch-up on my sleep." Maxi curls up into a tight, hedgehog ball and pulls the duvet up to his chin. "All this moving about from place to place really takes it out of you."

"True, true." Zexion tucks the little nine-year-old in properly and kisses his forehead. "I'm going to stay up for a little longer and sort things out. You just go to sleep and have sweet dreams."

**OOO**

It's about time that Lexaeus should be in bed too. He has finished the washing-up and general tidying, and there is nothing on the television, just some late night movies, shopping adverts, and the odd offer of dirty talk over the phone with a nice, teasing girl. Lexaeus is disinterested in all three.

With everything off, Lexaeus closes his bedroom door behind him and yawns. He pulls off his jumper, the cold of the room sending a slight shiver through his body, nipples perked.

He walks over to the window to close the curtains, but then he pauses. Across the way, in the apartment of the other building facing his, he can see someone. No one has lived there for a couple of mouths now. Has he just moved in? The man in the other apartment looks quite young, and a little on the thin side. He is sticking pieces of cardboard onto the bedroom window, too busy to notice that Lexaeus is watching him. What an odd thing to do. They must not have any curtains.

Lexaeus just shrugs at the sight and closes his own curtains. He gets into bed, switches off the light and closes his eyes. Everything is quiet for the night.


	2. On a Day Like This

**Chapter Music:** _On a Day_ by Emilie Autumn

* * *

**Rust on the Lock.**

**Chapter 2.**

**On a Day like This.**

For the past five mornings and five evenings, Lexaeus has been standing at the kitchen window and looking towards the little apartment across from his. It is now the sixth morning and he is looking again, half-dressed, hair still messy from sleep, as he leans over the kitchen sink with a cup of strong tea. The cardboard is still on the little window, blocking the view in and out, showing nothing but bits of brown and dull colour. However, it's not that which is the most puzzling anymore. The baffling point of it all is that Lexaeus has not seen neither hide nor hair of the young man who covered the window in the first place. Not in the courtyard, not in the street outside the complex, not in any of the other windows.

"Dad, have you seen my gym kit?"

Lexaeus looks over his shoulder and sees Lex standing in the doorway, half-dressed in his yellow and black school uniform.

"Hmm. I think it's in the ironing pile, mate."

"Right." Instead of heading for the laundry, Lex walks over to his father's side, peeping out of the window with him. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing."

"Then why are you looking out of the window if you are looking for anything?"

Lexaeus smiles with a sigh. "I was looking at the apartment across from here. I saw a man in there a few nights ago but not since then."

"…What did he look like?"

"Young, with long, slate hair."

"Oh, I saw him too."

"You did?"

"Yeah. He had a little kid with him."

Lexaeus turns to face Lex fully. "He did?"

"Yeah. He was about this big." Lex holds his arm out and shows his father a rough height, "and looked a lot like the older guy. I saw them getting out of a taxi a few nights ago."

"So he has a child with him?" Lexaeus purses his lips. It's very likely that they are father and son. It's a shame that people are producing off-spring at such tender ages. Children birthing children will never be a good thing, especially if they are raising them on their own. Lexaus is in his late thirties, and even he sometimes has trouble looking after his own child by himself since his wife passed away. With a frown, Lexaeus finishes his drink and stands up properly.

"Go and get dressed. You are going to be late for school."

"Do I have to go to school?" Lex moans. "No one wants to learn towards the end of the term, and it's getting boring now. Can I go to the bookstore with you instead?" He is practically pleading but Lexaeus just chuckles at his behaviour, shaking his head.

"You need to go to school, Lex. It's against the law for you to stay out of it. You don't want me to pay a big fine, do you?"

"No, Dad." Lex shakes his head. "I don't want that… although I doubt Squall would give you a fine anyway."

**OOO**

Squall doesn't feel like eating. He pushes the plate of scrambled eggs he made for himself away across the table. He had never been the greatest of chefs, and it's just a tasteless, rubbery mush.

He picks up the mug of coffee that Rinoa made for him and he gladly drinks it. The girl manages to even make a simple pot of coffee utterly delicious. She must put magic in it.

Slowly, stiffly, Squall leans back in his chair, letting his head dangle over the top so he could stare up at the kitchen ceiling. For the past three years, two mouths and twenty days, he has been doing roughly the same routine almost every day: sitting at the table, with coffee in his black mug within his grasp, contemplating everything. Mostly, he thinks about his line of work.

This new case is a real killer, no pun intended. The method of the actually killing is quite textbook standard. The old slash of a knife over the main artery and windpipe of the throat is a way used time-and-again, but the way the body was found is a little abnormal. The girl was found hanged up by her feet from a tree, a good half-of-a-meter off the ground. Since there was hardly any blood found on the ground, the reason that the girl was hang up like that must be so the murderer could collect as much blood as possible from the wound into a container.

Squall has studied and even taken part in cases were a murderer would collected parts of their victims for personal "souvenirs" of their misdeeds, something akin to hunting trophies. Parts like fingers, hair, teeth. He read up on one case one time about a police squad on the other side of the world somewhere hunting down a killer who took the victims' hearts, and they found his fridge full of jars, with the hearts flooding in alcohol to stop them from going rotten.

Blood, however, is a new one.

"Good news, Squall."

The man opens his eyes, and he can see Rinoa looking down at him, smiling as per usual. From the way Squall's head is positioned, she looks upside-down, as does the newspaper in her hands. The headline reads: _SHIN-RA FACES TOUGH HEATING DEMONDS_.

"Oh." Squall takes the paper and sits up properly, placing his coffee down on the table carefully. "I'm not front-page news anymore."

"Nope. You have been bumped back to pages two and three." Rinoa gives his shoulders a little squeeze. "Looks like Shin-Ra have taken your limelight. They've been having trouble with resources for the winter mouths, so people are worried it might mean higher costs…" She trails off, blinking at Squall's abandoned eggs. "Aren't you hungry?"

"My cooking tastes like plastic" the man shrugs, busy scan-reading the front page.

"Well, you have to eat something. I'll make you a bacon sandwich if you wish."

"No, no. You don't have to do that. I'm fine."

"Well… If you are not doing to eat your eggs, may I have them? It would be a shame to just throw them out."

"If you like the flavour of melted plastic, go for it."

Rinoa laughs softly as she shakes her head at the grump she calls her boyfriend. She sits down in the other chair and pulls the plate towards her, tucking in straight away. Squall looks up and smiles weakly at her. "Where do you put it all?"

"Don't be mean," Rinoa smiles, "I'm very hungry nowadays."

"I don't think it's just you" Squall says, still smiling weakly as he stands up and walks around the table to give his girlfriend a kiss on the cheek and he tickles her stomach, making her giggle. She bats his hand away.

"Shouldn't you be getting to work?" she asks.

"I wish I didn't have to." Squall sighs and makes his way to the bathroom back down the hallway. Rinoa follows, taking the scrambled eggs with her. She leans against the frame of the bathroom door, watching Squall shuffle around for the shampoo, turn on the shower and finally strip off.

"Don't you have to meet captains of the other police forces today?" she asks.

"Yeah." The man climbs into the bath and closes the rubber duck-patterned shower curtain around him. He pours some shampoo into the palm of his hand and starts to soup-up his hair. "To be honest, Rinoa, I wish I didn't have to do this case at all. Murder is never fun, and the ritual-styled death is sending shockwaves across the media. They hounded me at the press conference yesterday… The news reporters are nothing but hungry, rabid dogs, waiting to pick at this case like steak."

"Oh, Squall. Don't be like that." Rinoa pulls the curtain back a little bit, peaks around it and smiles. "I know you are a private man, and you don't like it when the media gets involved, but think of the… positives that may come out of this: A stronger link and alliance between the Kalm and Midgar forces, more respect, and maybe even more munny. It's not all doom and gloom. And it's almost Christmas. Stop acting like you have a lump of coal up your butt."

Squall chuckles. "Alright. Now if you don't mind, little lady, I'm trying to bathe. I want my privacy." He flicks water off his fingers onto her face and she yelps, backing away sharply.

"Squall! That's wasn't nice."

"Bye, Rinoa."

The girl huffs and walks out, off to get some bread to mop up the grease on her plate. Squall collects water in his hands, using them as a cup. He looks at his murky reflection, than splashes the water in his face. "The other captains better be good workers."

**OOO**

Work has been slow this morning, but that will likely change when people leave their own businesses and start on some early seasonal shopping. At this very moment, all that Lexaeus has to do is stock-take. He mutters his list back to himself in a low voice.

"We need more volumes of _A Clockwork Orange_, _Animal Farm_, _Lolita_ and _The Catcher in the Rye_, and we are almost out of _1984_ and _One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest-_"

"Hey, Lexaeus!"

The man walks through the maze of bookcases over the cashier desk. Demyx is sat there, feet on table top, a newspaper on his lap. He is doing the crossword. "What is another word for "unreservedly enthusiastic"? Seven letters, L is the fourth letter."

"Zealous" Lexaeus answers without a second thought. Demyx scribbles the word into the little boxes as his elder sits down on the chair next to him, who writes their much needed titles into the stock book. "Have you read the front pages?"

"Are you talking about the Shin-Ra story or the ritual murder?"

"The latter."

"Yep, I did. Gruesome, isn't it?" Demyx pops the pen lid back onto his biro. "My mum started freaking out about it all. She's worried about the family's safety. She doesn't want any of us to go out after eight o'clock at night anymore."

"She's doing it out of love, Demyx." Lexaeus touches the ring on his left hand out of an old habit. "Women are like that over their children and loved ones."

"I know, but she's got the door fitted with extra bolt locks. I mean, it's not that she has any daughters. She's got all sons. The killer only targets girls, right?"

"They have only found one body, Dem. The female target talk is only a theory."

"What are you two slugabeds nattering on about?" Vexen walks in from the backroom, carrying a box which is still all taped up.

"We are discussing murder" Demyx smiles; "It was that or Shin-Ra cocking up again. What's in the box?"

"A new poetry collection," Vexen announces. He pulls his penknife out of his jacket pocket and cuts the tape along the cardboard flaps, opens the box and pulls out one of the books. It's a fancy-looking book with spiralled pink patterns and a title in bold capitals: _LOVELESS. _There is no author printed. Lexaeus takes one of the copies into his large hands and opens it up to the first page:

_**Prologue**_

_When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end,_

_The Goddess descends from the of light and dark spread afar,_

_She guides us to bliss; Her gift everlasting._

"It would make a nice stocking-filler for a romantic," Lexaeus comments, turning the tome carefully around in his hands.

Vexen shrugs. "I personally find it a load of waffle, but maybe that's because I'm a grumpy old man."

"Who is the Goddess in this?"

"I'm not sure. It does not say. Just help me put these in the window display." As they take the book over to the store front, a loud ringing calls through the shop. "Get the phone, Demyx."

"Right-o." The boy spins his chair around, kicks off the desk and rides on the chair wheels over to the other side of the desk. He puts the phone receiver to his head. "The Original House of Pancakes."

"_Demyx!_"

"I mean, The Academic's Bookstore. Demyx Rivers speaking… Yep, we do home deliveries… Alright, just let me get the book." He reaches out and pulls the delivery book over, along with a pencil. "May I have your details?" He writes down the address, the titles, the dates and the prices down. "Done. You will have your order on the coming Saturday. Thank you for calling." He puts the phone down and shuts the book with a loud _slam._ "It's another gift order, Vex. The lady wants horror books for her kids."

"What is it with the children today and horror?" Vexen sighs, placing some of the _LOVELESS_ books in tiny stands. "They all seem so obsessed with it. Like my Xaviera. She's into werewolves and Wicca at the moment. She even hung up some pentagrams in her bedroom window. The neighbours think there is something unholy about her."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Lexaeus smiles. "It's just the current fad, and all fads come and go with the times. Lex is into vampires at the moment, but you don't find him trying to bite people, do you?"

"Be as it may, I still find it a little unnerving." Vexen places the last book onto the pile. "I mean, when we were little, Lexaeus, we read nice book series, didn't we? Like _The Famous Five _and _Just William_, and girls read _Milly-Molly-Mandy_-"

"Who the hell is Milly-Molly-Whatsits?" Demyx asks, pulling a confused face the top of over his newspaper.

"She is a little before your time, Dem" Lexaeus tells him.

"I should say so" the boy smiles. "All I read as a kid was _Horrid Henry_."

"Why am I not surprised?" Vexen pulls his wallet from his trouser pocket, and throws it across the room. Demyx catches it out of reaction. "Do something useful and get lunch for all of us, will you Demyx?"

"Sure, sure." The boy stands, and pulls on his hoodie and coat from the back of the chair. "So, is it the usual for everyone?"

"The usual" Vexen and Lexaeus answer in unison.

"Right-o." With a hat on his head and gloves on his fingers, Demyx steps through the shop door and braves the cold wind. "See you in fifteen minutes or less."

**OOO**

"Lunch break finished five minutes ago."

Irvine and Selphie have been friends with Squall for years, since childhood, and they know what his "annoyed face" look like, and they are looking at his now. That is never a good sign. Never.

"What's the problem?" Irvine shrugs, talking around an mouthful of sandwich. "We've come back later then this before and you never bettered an eyelid."

"Well, that was those days," Squall growls. "This is today. Today is important."

"Squall, just because we have other forces coming in today," Selphie smiles, "doesn't mean you need to be stressed and uptight about it. Here, we got you something." She holds out a plastic cup of coffee and from her bag produces a wrapped-up triple-chocolate muffin from the bakery down the road.

"Thank you." Squall takes them both with a small smile. He un-wraps the muffin and takes a large bite out of it straight away, wolfing it down. His friends blink at him.

"Gees, Squall." Selphie crosses her arms at him. "Didn't you have breakfast?"

"No." Squall gulps down a mouthful of coffee as they walk into his office. "I tried to, but I lost interest. Now I'm really hungry." Food still tasted odd on his tongue. He knows that the muffin is one of the best pieces of pastry in town, but today it does not do anything for him. It's not the bakery's fault. Nevertheless, funny-tasting or not, he's starving.

Squall sits down in his chair and he is half-way through the large muffin already. "Today is important" he says again. "Meeting the police forces from Kalm and Midgar is a big step, especially for a case as sensitive as this. You two are the best… well, only sergeants that I have, so I'm counting on you to make a good example of our forces."

"Oh, come on, Squall. Give us _some_ credit." Irvine dumps himself on the corner of the desk. "Since when have we made you look bad?"

"I can speak of five too many Christmas office parties for examples" Squall sighs, gulping down more coffee like a fish with water. "But seriously, I don't want to seem inferior in their eyes. This murder case is the biggest one since… I don't know what. It's a big deal at any rate-" There is a knock at the door, and the three of them jump up. Squall hides his muffin in the top drawer of his desk, and brushes the brown crumbs off his person. "Come in."

The door opens and in walks a man wearing a uniform very different from their own: young, blue-eyed, yet he possessed a stern look, with his blond, spiked hair tucked under his cap. Squall stands up and extends a hand over the desk towards him. "Cloud Strife, I presume."

"You presumed right." Captain Cloud takes the open hand and they shake in greeting. "Sorry we took so long. We had to take care of some business back in Kalm before coming over."

"We?"

They look towards the door and Cloud introduces his sergeants: a couple of strong-looking people, a man and a woman, both with black hair and kind eyes. "This is Zack Fair, and Tifa Lockhart. Both of them act as my second-in-command."

"Hello there." Being the ever-so-friendly character, Irvine slid up to Tifa and took her hand, completely ignoring Zack. "I'm _Sergeant _Irvine Kinneas." He puts an arm around her and he is a little _too_ close for comfort, "and may I be the first to say it's nice to see more women in this line of work- Ah! Ah! My arm!" In a flash and a swift, artful movement, Irvine is at Tifa's mercy, his invading arm held and twisted tightly behind his back. It is a profressional monk-style hold, one he cannot break out of easily. "Alright, alright, I get it! No touching."

"No, not that," Tifa smiles, "you were just cocky for my liking."

"I'm starting to like her already" Selphie whispers to Squall, grinning broadly.

Cloud rolls his eyes. "Let him go, Tifa."

She does, and Irvine retreats behind Squall for safety. He rolls his shoulder a few times, checking that it still works.

"Where in hell did you get your training from?"

"Apart from basic policing?" the woman replies back, pushing her long, slick hair back. "I haven't had much training, unless you count a good few years in AVALANCE."

The three behind the desk blink, a little stunned. She can't mean _that_ AVALANCE? The insane eco-terrorist insurgents from a while back? The ones who went to all-out war against Shin-Ra?

After a beat, Squall relaxes again, placing his fingertips together. "I thought I recognized you. You were the girl who owned 7th Heaven, their headquarters."

"Correct, sir."

Then Squall looks at Zack and Cloud. "So that makes you two the SOLDIERs who betrayed Shin-Ra and joined AVALANCE."

"Well, Cloud was never a real SOLDIER" Zack points out. "He's got the ego for it, but ended up being just an ordinary infantryman-"

"Thanks, Zack." Cloud stands in front of Squall and his expression becomes a little mor softer. "You don't mind working with AVALANCE members, do you?"

"Not as long as you are hard workers" Squall shrugs. "Despite your reputation, AVALANCE did a lot of good things for this world… although we did spend a good time fighting against you."

Cloud laughs once. "Ha. So by process of elimination, I'm guessing you are SeeD mercenary… Judging by your age, I'm guessing you're part of the orphan-project."

"Yes. All three of us." Squall nods to his two friends flagging either side of him. "We came on top of the class."

"Oh?" Cloud says, curious. "That's interesting." He looks over to his sergeants. "Captain Almasy said he came on top of the class too, right?" All at once, Squall, Irvine and Selphie freeze, staring at Cloud with different degrees of shock.

"…Please tell me you didn't just say Almasy" Irvine pleads, almost begged; and on cue, the door opens abruptly, and there is standing a ghost that Squall thought he left in his teenage years. A blond ghost, with piercing blue eyes and that damned twin scar across his face, the only thing still tying him and Squall together. Upon seeing Leonhart, Seifer the ghost blinks at him, visibly confused, than gives a laugh, shaking his head.

"I don't believe this. _You three _are in-charge here." He runs his fingers through his hair, as Squall's killer stare burns into him. "Who was daft enough to make that decision?" Confused, the Kalm police force is stuck in the middle of an amused Seifer and an angered Squall.

"Mm," Cloud smiles nervously, "you guys know each other?"

"We were in SeeD together" Squall explains, crossing his arms over his puffed-up chest. "It's nice seeing you again, Seifer."

"Now, now, Leonhart. We both know you are lying." Seifer takes a few steps closer, looking around the small office. It's smaller compared to his anyway. "But I guess we are stuck together on this case, so we better make the most of it."

"You're by yourself, Seifer?" Irvine asks flatly, just quirking his brow a touch.

The blond scoffs. "Of course not."

And in the doorway, two officers appeared. One is a male, tanned and bulky with black hair and dark eyes, strong-jawed and a piercing in the right eyebrow. The other is a woman, red-eyed and silvered-haired, an eye-patch over the left side of her face, a chakram attached to her belt for easy access. Seifer smiles in their direction, almost prideful. "This is-"

"I know you!" Zack blurts out, cutting the captain off. "Raijin and Fujin. You were with the Turks when we left and started AVALANCE. Why are you in the bloody police?"

"Change of scene" Fujin says, point-blank with a slightly shrug.

"The Turks were never our thing, ya know?" Fujin says, somewhat supporting her statement.

"What are you talking about? The Turks had munny coming out of their arses! Why would you leave that?"

"Zack, _really_." Tifa gives his a warming hit on the arm. "People have their reasons."

"But all that gold-!"

"We are all here for a serious case!" Squall doesn't normally shout but it seems appropriate for the current situation. He _is_ meant to be in charge around here after all. "The murder case will need us all to work together, so no personal comments… please."

Seifer cocks an eyebrow, before returning to his normal, confided and cocky self. "Look. Us three have been travelling for a whole hour and haven't had lunch yet, so we are going to go get some before we start work. Is that alright with _you? Captain_?"

Squall huffs but kept calm. "Fine. Just hurry back." Actually, he is quite happy to see the back of Seifer and his lackeys. He breathes a silent sigh of relief as the door closes behind them.

"…We have to get some things for the car" Cloud says quietly. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, yes. I'm fine" Squall say, although he was a unsure himself. "I just… have a lot on my plate at the moment." Cloud gave him a little nod, than he and Zack leave the room. Tifa lingers behind, meeting Squall's eyes briefly.

"You have a bit of, um…" She points to the corner of her mouth, gives it a little lick with her tongue. Squall copies, and he can taste a blob of chocolate on his lips. Like an embarrassed schoolboy, he bows his head and swipes it off discreetly with a tissue from the box on the desk. Tifa just smiles kindly at him and leaves.

When the door is shut, Squall's head hits the head with a large _bang!_ Startled, Selphie and Irvine jumped slightly in shock. They blinked at their deflated leader.

"Mm. Squall? Are you okay?"

The scarred man sighs. "Oh, mighty Bahamut, be nice for bloody once and strike me dead."

**OOO**

"What do you mean you are not a follower at all?"

Xaviera is looking at Lex with wide, almost rounded eyes, the iciness in her irises burning into him. He wishes he hadn't started talking about today's Mythical History lesson. They were talking about the different Gods and how They came to power to Xaviera on the walk home, since she is in a younger class to them, but they had forgotten how extreme of a follower she is. Lex shifts his backpack's weight and tightens his scarf around his neck to keep out the chill.

"Me and my dad just chose not to worship one" he explains. "It's not against the law or anything."

"Me and Daddy worship a God" Xaviera says promptly. "Do you know which?"

Dexter leans over towards Lex. "I bet everything I own on Shiva."

"Who do you follow, sweetie?" Xenia asks, smiling and playing along.

"We follow Shiva."

"What did I tell you?" Dexter grins.

"I don't see why out of all the Gods there are, you worship Shiva," Xosé sighs, "She is not the warmest of characters."

"Well, She is a Goddess of ice." Xaviera rolls her eyes, huffing at the older boy's stupidity. "I believe you are missing the point of Her powers."

"Odin is a better God anyway" the blue-haired lad says factually. "He is strong, brave, unwavering-"

"He has Sleipnir helping Him" Xaviera holler at him, "That's cheating."

"Guys, guys, guys," Dexter throws his arms around his two friend's shoulders, smiling cheerfully. "We all know that Shiva and Odin are brilliant but… Bahamut could always kick Their arses!"

"_No way!_"

Lex just rolls his eyes, and bumps himself onto one of the playground swings. They always do this after school. Lex's building is the closest to Balamb Academy, so they go there and stay in the central playground of the courtyard, until Demyx comes by in his car to pick everyone else up and take them home. Then Lex would normally go inside and have a sandwich. A nice toasted-cheese sandwich would be nice on a cold afternoon like this.

"_Lex,_" Xaviera comes sulking over, grabbing onto the chains of the swing so he stays in place, making sure he can see her pitiful expression. "You're on my side, right? You agree that Shiva is far more superior, right?"

"I'm not a follower" Lex teases with a smile. "I shouldn't be taking part in the argument."

"Spoilsport!" The very annoyed little girl blonde tries to give him a shove, but Lex only sways on his swing a little bit. He's too heavy for her skinny arms to push. She turns around to Dexter and Xosé and pouts angrily, arms crossed over her flat chest. "Just admit you're wrong."

"Why are _we_ the ones at fault?" Xosé asks, smirking at the girl's anger like he always does. He likes seeing the lass like this.

Xaviera furrows her brow. "You just _are_!"

"Hey, hey, hey. Don't fight." Xenia rubs her temple, the leather of her gloves kneading into her skin. "Your voices go right fucking through me."

"_Charming_." Dexter jumps onto the swing next to Lex, pumping his legs slightly. "…Has anyone else's parents freaked over with murder thing yet?"

"My dad told me not to go out on my own anymore," Lex shrugs. "He didn't seem so "_freaked out"_ at that point."

"My mum's freaking" Dexter smiles, a little amused. "She got someone to change the locks yesterday, but Zell couldn't get in when he come home from work because he had the old keys, so we thought he was a burglar. We opened the door on him, and Demyx got him with a bucket of water, and Hayner hit his stomach with a baseball bat. It was really funny."

"Your family is like a comedy show at the best of times" Xosé says, rolling his yellow eyes. "You should film them."

"I put a camera in Hayner's bedroom once" Dexter admits. "He sang sometimes and it was _horrible_."

"Like that psycho bastard murderer could hurt _us_." Showing-off, Xenia does a few high kicks in the air, pumping her fists. "Us Jenova-kids will beat the motherfucking _shit _out of something like him in ten seconds flat."

"Someone's full of hot air and big-headed pride today" Lex mumbles to himself, smirking under his hair. He jumps as a fist nearly, _nearly _collides with his face. If he leans forward an inch, half-an-inch, he would feel the supple leather of the glove against his nose.

"You better not be insulting me, Stone" Xenia growls with a menacing grin, teeth and retainer bared. "If you are, I will have to fight you for my honour."

Lex chuckles and gently grabs her wrist, pulling her hard fist out of the way. "I rather not fight a monk when I am still tired. How about I replace honour with sweets from the corner shop?" Surprising him, Xaviera's long, pale arms wrap around his neck from behind.

"I like jawbreakers" she smiles with a very sickly-sweet smile.

"Can you get me some liquorish, junior?" Dexter asks with cheek.

"Just a can of pop for me," Xosé adds.

Lex rolls his eyes. "Fine, fine. I'll do a candy run. Hopefully the shop is still open."

**OOO**

"Excuse me? Are you still open?"

Cid puts down his newspaper and looks over the counter, his cigarette still hanging from his mouth. Standing on the other side, the costumer side, is a boy- No, a young man. Well, you can't blame Cid for mistaking the guy for being a minor. He's kind of small, and waif-like, the mechanic thinks, but that sharp jaw line and nose, those wide shoulders and his voice just had to belong to someone in his twenties at least.

"Yeah. We're open all night." Snubbing the fag-end in the ashtray, Cid stands up and puts on his "greeting the clients" smile. "What can I help you with, mate?"

"I know that you deal in car parts mostly," the young man says confidently, pushing slate hair out of his face, just to have it fall into his sight again, "but I understand that you have everyday appliances too. You wouldn't have a decent radio that you can sell to me, would you?"

Cid chews down a smirk - the thought of a little guy talking so informative and directly to him is somewhat amusing - and he stretches the coarse stubble on his chin in thought.

"Well, I think I have some radios that you may like." He walks over to one of the workbenches, digs through the metal and tools, looking for something the kid may fancy. He finds a second-hand one; digital but an old model. Cid had to tinker with it a lot but got it working in the end. "There's this one. I know it is a little battered but I gave it a tune-up not too long ago and works just as good as new. It was originally hundred-and fifty, but I'll sell it to you for just fifty munny, cash. Deal?"

"That's very generous of you" the boy smiles, rather tiredly. "I'll take it." From his inside breast pocket, he pulls out a wad of notes and counts out five tens. Cid's eyes widen at the cash. There was got to be at least a couple ten-thousand in his bony little hands. Where does a kid like him get gold like that?

Quietly, the boy takes the radio, places it into his open shoulder bag and presses the munny into the older man's open palm. "Here you go. Good evening, sir."

And then the boy just leaves, walking straight into the night, out of the door. Cid walks over towards the door and looks outside. The boy is gone by the time he reaches the door. It's fucking cold out there, so Cid closes the door and shivers. Lad's going to freeze out there with his coat open like that… and maybe mugged if he leaves that bag open too, showing off his radio to the world. Kids are such risk-takers these days.

**OOO**

Maxi is standing on the edge of the rooftop and is having the time of his life.

He likes this building. It's big and it even has a basement level. It is the place linking all three apartment blocks together, meeting underneath the courtyard. Maxi has already explored floor-zero this evening, and he found some interesting junk down there. It's amazing what people throw out. It's like a treasure trove down there, although it is pretty stinky too.

Now Maxi is at the polar opposite of the basement: the roof. The wind feels good on his face and neck, and it is messing up his hair playfully, making his pyjama top billow a little to whip against to his bare tummy and chest. He doesn't shiver.

Yes, yes. He knows his father told him to stay in the flat, but he can't help it. Maxi is a curious little thing. He likes to know where he is, where he is currently living. It's to get familiar with his temporary home, and it's not like he is down in the playground, where any old Tom, Dick or Harry-

What's that shouting?

Quickly, Maxi jumps off the raised edge onto the tar of the roof and hides behind the ledge, peeking down towards the courtyard below.

There are children down there - five of them, two girls and three boys - around and about the swing set. A group of friends still dressed in their school uniforms from the look of it. It looks like they are having fun, fooling about the place and laughing loudly. It's a very nice scene.

Maxi has- _had_ friends once. He was friends with three other boys and three girls, and they were some of the greatest mates a kid could want. They cared for him, made sure that their youngest buddy was happy and safe… then he had to leave them. And now Maxi may not be friends with them ever again. He would like to play with another child again. His dad plays with him when he can, but it's not the same as playing with kids your own age.

Propping his chin on his arms, Maxi studies the group. Like a pack of wolves, they have a leader, and it seems that the leader of their pack, the alpha is the biggest, strongest-looking boy. He looks attractive in the old-fashioned way, with curly, brown hair and slightly angled features. He looks interesting to Maxi. He would be a great friend. He looks like one at any rate.

Maxi remembers what Zexion said to him: _"Don't get involved with anyone's lives. Stay away from everyone," _but he said something similar about stealing clothes from the markets. The child just does it anyway, and his father just rolls his eyes and repeats the sentence again and again. It lost all meaning years ago.

Maybe if Maxi just meets one of the children, the eldest one, when the others leave and the sky gets a little darker…

**OOO**

It's quite dark now.

The others left for home half-an-hour ago, but Lex doesn't feel like going inside just yet. He sits down on one of the playground swings again and kicks slightly, making it sway. It's so peaceful tonight. There are no stars, being so cloudy but he doesn't mind. It just makes things seem darker, and he is not afraid of the dark. Only little babies are scared of the dark, and he isn't a baby… but the groaning noises of the bare trees bending in the wind is a little unnerving-

No, _no_. This is his _home. _Lex has been living here for years, since he was little. This is his playground, his domain. He owns this patch of ground. It's his right to claim it. There are not that many other kids in the apartment complex, and he was being here the longest, so he has first dibs on the swings, on the slide, but other kids can play here. He isn't greedy and mean, and defiantly not a bully.

Suddenly, something flickers in the corner in his eye. It was a cat maybe or a bird? No, it's too big to be any of them, but it moved so shiftily, just like a small animal running from its predator.

"…Hello?" he says, cautious. He stands up from the swing and looks around, turning around a full 360 degrees.

There is something blue finding in the shadows. He whips around. He _defiantly_ sees something- _someone_ standing against the wall, peeping around the corner.

It's the little boy.

It's the pale, little slate-haired boy that Lex saw on that cloudy night a few evenings ago. He can see him properly now. He's round-faced, with some puppy fat on his cheeks. His long hair is a little unkempt, and he looks very tired, with shadows cupping his eyes… and what eyes! Big, blue, shining ones, swallowing up any light close by. The milky moon looks dull and boring in comparison.

Lex stands up, taking a few small steps towards him. The little boy looks a little timid, and Lex can't blame him. Strangers are scary, aren't they? Being friendly, Lex puts on a warm smile and uses a soft voice.

"Hi there."

The boy shuffled up closer against wall, taking a half-step back. Lex's mouth tenses slightly. That was not the reaction he was hoping to get. He takes a deep breath and smiles again, not willing to give up so easily.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not going to harm you. I'm not like that…" He trails off, seeing the boy's clothes for the first time. They are stripy winter pyjamas and they don't look very appropriate for being out in the cold. Lex blinks, confused. He points at the boy's odd outfit. "Aren't you cold?" The little boy shakes his head timidly. Lex crosses his arms over his chest, tilting his head a touch. "What's wrong? Can't you talk?" The boy nods his head; yes, he can talk. Lex blinks again. "Aren't you going to say something then?" A brief pause, then the boy shrugs. Lex laughs at his stubbornness. "Well, alright then. My name's Lex. What's yours?"

"…Maximus." The younger child's voice is small and soft. "But I prefer Maxi."

"Well, Maxi, where do you come from?" Lex asks, trying to make conversation.

"I came from up there." Maxi points at to the covered window. "I came down from that apartment."

Lex laughs softly and shakes his head. "No, no. That's not what I meant… You're new around here. Where were you originally from?"

"…I'm not sure" Maxi says, stepping away from the wall a little bit. Lex looks confused and Maxi looks down at the ground. "…We move around a lot," he explains. "I don't really remember the place where I was born."

"Oh, well, you must have gone back to visit from time to time?"

"No. Not really."

Lex didn't understand. He himself was not born in the Gardens, but moved from his hometown of Icicle when he was five. They have relatives up there, so his father plans winter vacations from time to time to see them and the wonderful snowfalls. They couldn't go this year because of low funding for the trip. Why didn't Maxi know his birthplace? Lex tries to think of something else.

"…That guy you moved in with, he is your…?"

"My papa," Maxi answers. What an old-fashioned word. Lex hasn't really heard children around the area call their own fathers that.

"Well, your dad must have told you about your birthplace" Lex says factually. Maxi sucks his bottom lip lightly, making it a pale, flushed pink colour, so it looks like it's wearing a faint coating of lipstick.

"He might have… He doesn't really…" Maxi doesn't finish in sentence, leaving it handling in the air. Lex shifts uncomfortably in the silence. He looks downward, and then he notices the second odd quirk about Maxi: his lack of footwear. He's not even wearing any socks. Lex can see his little, pixie-like toes, a little dusty-looking and pale against the tarmac. Lex raises his brows.

"Where are your shoes?"

Maxi looks down at his own feet, like they are a completely new discovery. "I forgot to put them on."

"…I …see…" That made no sense at all. Everyone puts on their shoes before going outside in the cold. Lex didn't know why nor how Maxi could forget such a thing. "…You must be awfully cold."

"I'm not. Really I'm not" Maxi insists. "I'm fine."

Lex is really concerned now. Maybe he should go and find someone. Where was Maxi's dad anyway? Surely he should make sure his son dresses properly before going outside. Then Lex sees the third strange thing about Maxi: he has a bruise under his left eye. Lex couldn't really tell at first because the eyes are quite shadowed already, but the bruise looks more black, red and blue then purple. It's like someone has hit him. Lex tries to touch the child's face.

"What happened to your eye?"

Maxi flinches and moves out of reach. He covers the bruise with his hand and looks down to the ground, like he is ashamed of himself. He's frowning.

"It's nothing. It will go away soon."

Lex feels worried. "Are you sure you are alright? You don't seem-"

"I better go."

"No, wait. Don't go. Maybe I can help you…"

Maxi runs off towards his own building, turns his key in the lock and escapes through the doors quicker than lightning. Lex races after him but the door slams shut in his face, the bolt lock setting in with a heavy _clunk_. He rubs vapour off the window and looks in, but Maxi is already out of sight.

Defeated and sad, Lex walks away from the door and stands in the middle of the courtyard., to look up towards the covered window with a deep frown. Maxi lives there, maybe in poverty. Maybe he is walking around a kitchen in just his pyjamas, looking for something to eat, or going to his bed to try and sleep. Or maybe… he is crying. Maybe Lex said something to make him cry and he didn't want to do so in sight of older boy, because that can be embarrassing.

Lex doesn't want to be outside anymore. He starts to walk towards his own building, thinking. All that strange behaviour could have been a cry for help, and Maxi stared to bottle it when he tried to speak. He might be in trouble. Once safe and sound inside the apartment, Lex tugs off his coat and hat, and goes into his bedroom. He doesn't switch on the light, but instead he pulls his desk chair over to the window. He sits down and watches Maxi's apartment. The bathroom light is on and he can only see a blurred figure through the frosted glass. The kid is properly going to have a bath and warm up. That's good. Lex smiles at the thought. He's very, very tired now.

**OOO**

There is a type of sleepiness that is close to drunkenness. That is what Squall is experiencing right now.

After making sure the door is completely locked and bolted, the captain makes his and uneasy walk towards the bedroom. It's late, and Rinoa is very likely in bed asleep, so Squall is trying his up-most hardest not to be too noisy, but that is hard to do so when he is bumping into the wall and why do the squeaky floorboards always sound louder when a tired or drunk person is waking over them?

Not that Squall is drunk, by the way. Squall is the type of man that looks after himself, the type that watches what he consumes and visits the gym often, without turning his health into an overblown obsession. He's just the type of guy who cares about himself just enough, so he never ever makes himself blind drunk.

He manages to find the bedroom in the end, and in the dim moonlight he can make out a Rinoa-sized lump in the bed under the covers. He has to be super quiet now. Rinoa is an extremely light-sleeper. Any noise may wake her up. As skilful as a tipsy ninja, he tiptoes over to the bed, slipping out of his shoes, dumping his policeman's jacket, undoing his belt. Being too busy with his buttons, he doesn't see the bedside table and bangs his foot against it, and the pain stings more than normal by tenfold.

"_Ssshit_."

"Squall, is that you?"

"Good evening."

Rinoa switches on the lamp, laminating the room. By the side of the bed, Squall is hopping up and down on his good foot, his hurt one in the grasp of hands. "Sorry… Did I wake you?"

"No. I've been waiting up for you." The girl makes him sit down and she looks over his foot carefully. "Where have you been? I was getting worried. I should have phone up the station and asked, I guess."

"I was working on the murder case." With a yawn, Squall rests his heavy head against her shoulder, closing his eyes. "Now I'm shattered."

"Oh, my poor Squall." With the mannerisms of a nanny - behaviour which she has practiced too often with her boyfriend - Rinoa ruffles his hair and starts to unbutton his shirt for him, getting the man ready for bed. "It's not fair being you, is it sweetie?"

"No, it's not." As Squall shakes his head, it lolls about in every direction, the pulse points pounding. "It sucks being me at the moment."

"Oh?" Rinoa frowns and pouts a little. "Surely not _everything_ sucks." Squall looks up and sees her face, now feeling a little guilty. He reaches up and cups her cheek in his hand, putting on his most charming smile.

"Everything but you, Rinoa." They look at each other for quite some time, than Rinoa breaks down and starts to giggle behind her hand. Squall scowls. "I was trying to be charming, and you're not really helping."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry." The woman manages to calm down and kisses his cheek. "It's just sweet, is all."

"So you laugh at sweet things?" Squall huffs. He turns his back on her like a child in a sissy-fit. "I'm not going to do sweet things anymore if that is the case."

"Sorry, Squall. You just caught me off-guard." Standing up, fluffing up the pillows, Rinoa pushes him back to slouch against the cushions, pulling the covers around him. She knows that Squall hates being babied like this, so that's why she does it, to annoy him in her own caring way. At least he's too tired to care tonight. As the captain finally settles down, she perches herself on his lap, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck. "Now, what is _really_ annoying you?"

Squall sighs, closing his eyes. "…Seifer."

"Seifer?" Riona arches a brow and ponders. "Why does that name sound so familiar?" To help her remember, Squall reaches over to the collection of framed photos they have on the bedside table and shows her his SeeD class snapshot, point to the blond lad in the middle. Rinoa makes an understanding noise. "Oh. That Seifer. Yes, I remember you talking about him now. I thought you said he moved to Midgar."

"He did," Squall mumbles, "and he became the captain of the Midgar police force."

"Ah. I see." Rinoa lowers her head a little, drawing circles into her lover's chest. "Well, maybe you can get past your squabbles and-"

"I don't think so, Rinoa." Squall snubs out her hope quicker than a flash. "Seifer obviously thinks that he's better than me. He became the captain of the capital while I'm just in charge of a small town, not moving on from this place."

"Oh, goodness sake," Rinoa rolls her eyes, "you are like a child, Squall. Who said that the two of you were in competition? This is one of those guy things, isn't it? You're trying to out-macho each other."

"We are _not-_" Before Squall can even continue with his moaning, Rinoa presses a finger to his lips to shut him up. The woman pulls one of those amused but fed-up expressions.

"No more ranting for _you_ tonight, mister" she sighs. "It's late and you need to sleep."

"…Fine." Squall finally gives up and relaxes his shoulders, if not pouting a little bit. "I guess you're right, Rinoa. You're normally right about this sort of stuff." With a weak, sleepy smile, he plants a kiss on her brow and gives her a squeeze, trying not to crush her. "How about we shut up about my crummy day, huh?" He rests his hand over her stomach, looking at it lovingly. There was hardly anything there, just a swell rather than a bump, but it's still early days. "How has the day been for you two?"

"Well, while the babe has been getting a free ride all day, I've been having bad heartburn" Rinoa sighs with a smirk.

"Doesn't heartburn mean the baby will have lots of hair?" Squall asks. He runs his fingers through his girlfriend's long, silky locks. "I bet it will have lots of lovely hair like you."

"Is that your sweet, charming side again?" the woman teases. The captain furrows his brow at her again, then smirks as he rolls them over and starts to attack her with nimble fingers and skilful lips. Rinoa yelps and giggles madly, giving up on trying pushing him away. It is nice being home again, Squall thinks.

**OOO**

Lexaeus is home. Finally.

He's returned later than normal. Hopefully Lex has made himself dinner and everything. As he turns the key so the engine stops grumbling, Lexaeus checks the dashboard clock - 22:10. Damn, that's pretty late. Lex better not have stayed up for him.

With a tired mumble, Lexaeus gets out of the car and locks its doors. Tugging his scarf tighter around his neck, he places his large hands into his coat pockets and walks around the side of the building. He's almost home and he can't wait to get inside, get comfortable and have a quick nightcap to help he get to sleep. Just thinking about his bed was making him sleepy.

As he turns the corner, he pauses. At the door of the second, smaller building, someone is struggling with their belongings. They are on their knees, rummaging through their cloth bag with curses tumbling over his lips. They have a radio standing next to them.

Lexaeus knows him, sort of. It's the boy from all those nights ago. It was the one in the window. Lexaeus can recognize his shiny, silver hair.

Something else silver and shiny shimmers in the moonlight, and Lexaeus almost steps on it with his heavy boots, feeling it knock against his foot. From the muddy grass, he picks up a set of keys. Obviously, they must belong to the flustered boy by the door. Playing the friendly neighbour act, Lexaeus walks over the grass towards the other building, the ring dangling from his index finger, making little tingling noises as the keys clattered together. As soon as he is in hearing distance, he speaks up.

"Mm. Excuse me-"

The boy leaped back up, backing up against the door, startled. His eyes - his _very_ pretty blue eyes, Lexaeus notes - are wide and startled, like a deer in highlights. His slim flat chest is heaving. Now that Lexaeus is standing right in front of him, he can see the lad properly for the first time. He is an attentive young man, with a touch of femininity in his eyes, a boyish appearance to his slender body, and his features were soft yet defined. He's very pale, almost washed-out in the lamppost light. His breath pours out of between his lips like dragon mist. He's like a ghost. Lexaeus puts on his best smile for him.

"Sorry for startling you" he says soothingly. "I just found these on the ground." He holds up the keys a little higher; to the boy's (pretty) eye level. The boy blinks at the man curiously, like it's all a trap, then glances at the set of keys, before looking back at Lexaeus. Always staring at the stranger, he unhooks the keys from the long finger, and shows a brief, weak smile before bowing his head.

"Thank you."

He turns fully around to face the door and puts a key into the lock, rattling it about. It doesn't work. Cursing softly, he tries another key. Lexaeus shifts from one foot to another and speaks.

"I'm Lexaeus, by the way. Lexaeus Stone."

The boy pauses briefly, looks up at the man through his hair and smiles weakly again. "I'm Zexion Read." He turns back to the door. The next key doesn't work either. It's back to silence again.

Lexaeus purses his lips. "I'm not wanted, am I?"

Zexion freezes all together, the key still in his hand and in the lock. He turns his body around fully and looks up at the large man. "…Excuse me?"

"Don't you want to be around me?" Lexaeus asks, looking a little sad. "Is that why you're desperate to get inside?"

"Oh, no, no. It's not like that." Zexion shakes his head over and over again, looking hopeless. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to get away from you. I just…" He pauses, biting down on the bottom lip softly as he finds an excuse. "I just want to get inside. My son-"

"Papa!"

The two man look up towards the little bathroom window of Zexion's apartment, and see the little, frail-looking boy peeking out from it. He is dressed in bathrobe, and his hair is dripping water everywhere. He waves down at Zexion, happy to see him. Almost shyly, Zexion smiles and waves back, before the lad disappears back inside, locking the window behind him.

Lexaeus chuckles. "Who was that?"

"Maximus," Zexion sighs. "My son… I better go inside and sort the bathroom out. He's not very good at tidying up."

"Then I better not keep you." Lexaeus rubs the back of his neck. "You know, if you are ever free, you can come around to my place and we can share a drink or two, to get to know one another, if you like."

"…I would like that." Zexion smiles at the offer, but his eyes look sad. He extends a bare hand. "It's been nice meeting you."

Lexaeus takes hold of the slim hand and they shake. A shiver passes through his strong frame. Even with his gloves on, he can feel cold radiating off Zexion's smooth skin, penetrating through the thick material.

"Gods, you're freezing." Lexaeus cups the small hand careful in both of his huge palms. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, thank you." Zexion pulls his hand away slowly and picks up his bag. "Don't worry about me." He turns the key - the last key - in the lock and it opens the bolt with a _clunk_. He pushes the heavy door open with little strain. "Goodnight, Lexaeus."

"Yeah. Goodnight to you too, Zexion."

The door closes behind the boy, and Lexaeus is left along in the dark. With a tired sigh, he makes his way to his own building, hands deep in his pockets as he searches for his own keys. He gets through the door, walks up the stairwell, reaching his front door and he is finally home. Granted, it's a very quiet, seemingly deserted home.

"Lex, I'm back… Lex?" The man looks around the flat, switching on lights as he goes, but cannot see his son anywhere. "…Maybe he's got to bed" Lexaeus tells himself under his breath, so he goes to the boy's bedroom. He opens the door and blinks. Lex is indeed asleep, but he is fully-clothed and doubled-over in his chair, head on the windowsill. That can't be comfortable, but somehow Lex is sleeping peaceful, cheek against the cold surface. He must have been exhausted. With a smile, Lexaeus leans down and shakes the lad's shoulders. "Lex. Wake up."

"Hmm. Wha?" Lex slowly lifts his head, eyes full of sleeps. He looks up at Lexaeus and rubs his lashes clear. "Oh. It's you, Dad. Hello."

"Hello to you too," Lexaeus draws the curtains of the window shut, "you shouldn't be sleeping in the window, mate. It's not healthy." He helps him up, running his finger through the boy's soft curls. "Get into your pyjamas, and I'll make us some milky tea."

"Mm, alright," Lex nods his head slightly, frowning. "That sounds nice… Can I talk to you about something, Dad?"

Lexaeus pulls a wary face. "Why do you look so sad? Has something happened at school?"

"No, it's not me" Lex reassures him. "Can we talk though?"

"Sure. You can tell me anything." Lexaeus kisses the boy's crown, nuzzling his tresses. "Just get ready for bed and come into the kitchen when you are ready."

Lexaeus goes to brew the tea for two, fishing out some ginger biscuits from the cupboard. Like clockwork, when the kettle stops boiling, Lex comes into the kitchen and they sit down at the table, son on the father's lap.

"Now… what's wrong?"

"…You know that child I told you about this morning" Lex mumbles over his favourite mug.

"You mean Maximus. Yes, I saw his father outside. What about him?"

"Well, I met him tonight… sort of. He kind of run off, because I think he was shy, or scared… but something was off about him." The boy tilts his head to a different angle, so he is looking at Lexaeus. "He wasn't wearing warm clothes and… he had bruising under his eye, right here." He touches the spot under his left eye and flinches just thinking about it. "I'm a little worried about him, Dad… Do you think his dad beats him up?"

Lexaeus hopes not. Beating up children is low and a cowardly act. And that Maximus looks like a very fragile child. It wouldn't take much to break a bone in that little body… then again, Zexion doesn't seem to be the type of guy to hit his own son.

"…I'm sure he isn't going to be in any danger, little one."

"But I'm really worried about Maxi, Dad." Lex tugs at the man's sleeve. "You were a police officer. Can't you get some of the force to check on him?"

"I don't have that type of power anymore, Lex…" The man gives his hand a comforting squeeze. "But if it will put your mind at ease, I'll go around tomorrow and talk to Zexion."

"Will you?"

"Yes. I promise."

"Thanks, Dad." Lex gives the man a kiss on the cheek, smiling slightly. "I better get to bed. Goodnight, and don't stay up too late."

"I won't," Lexaeus chuckles, "goodnight, darling." He lets Lex slip off his lap and watches the boy pad out of the kitchen. Now alone again, Lexaeus picks up the child's used mug and takes it over to the sink. With his own drink still steaming in his hands, he leans against the counter and stares out of the window, towards the boarded-up window across the way. He watches and waits, but he can't see anybody. This is the sixth night he has done this.


	3. A Friend Who Bleeds is Better

**Chapter Music:** _Pure Morning_ by Placebo.

* * *

**Rust on the Lock.**

**Chapter 3.**

**A Friend Who Bleeds is Better.**

It is the seventh morning, and Lexaeus is still spending his spare time looking out of the window, trying to spot Zexion. It just seems pointless now. The glass has not been uncovered since it the cardboard has been put up, and yet he finds himself looking out again: maybe to be nosy, or for Zexion's sake, or possibly for Maxi's safety.

What Lex had said last night stirred something within the man. Lexaeus doesn't completely believe that Zexion beats his son up, but it is a possibility. If Zexion hurts Maxi, it may have started from someone else harming Zexion as a child. It's not a nice thought, but back in the force, most child abuse and domestic violence cases started like that. It's more of a chain then anything else. However, Zexion would never abuse someone, would he? He seemed like such a small, fragile thing himself. When Lexaeus held that small hand in his own large paws, it was like holding a child's hand in a way. A small, cold child…

Lexaeus shakes his head, snapping out of it. He hardly knows Zexion, and the boy is bound to know how to look after himself and his son. Maybe everything can be sorted out. Maybe it was all a big misunderstanding-

"You are going to go and talk to him, right?"

Lexaeus turns around and sees Lex standing the doorway, all dressed and ready for school. The man can't help smiling when he sees Lex looking semi-smart in black and yellow. He walks over to the child and reaches down to straighten out his tie for him.

"I will go around before I go to work," he promises.

"Pinky-swear." Lex holds a fisted hand, the little finger standing out from the rest. Lexaeus chuckles and curls his own little finger around the lad's, and they shake on it. Lex smiles, "Thanks, Dads."

"It's alright." The man ruffles his hair playfully, a smile on his face. "It's good of you to look out for a younger child. You're such a lovely boy, Lex."

"Dad, don't say things like that!" Lex looks downward, blushing. "It's embarrassing."

"I'm not embarrassing" the man smiles, shaking his head. A car horn toots outside, so he goes over to the window, looking down towards the courtyard. He can see a black, shiny family-size car below, the engine still roaring to keep the heater going. "That looks like Xaldin and Xenia. Got everything?"

"Yep!" Lex throws on his winter coats, puts his school bag over his shoulder and turns around to leave. "See you later, Dad." The boy disappears down the hallway, and out of the front door.

Lexaeus sighs and looks out of the window, waiting for a while until Lex reappears at the bottom in the courtyard. He is greeted by Xenia, who is standing up through the roof window of the car, and he hops in. It drives away down the road, leaving Lexaeus alone in an empty flat. He always feels alone when Lex leaves in the morning, ever since his darling wife passed on. He can't help it. His own parents died of old age some years ago and he has no siblings, so Lex is his last direct member of his family; his little lad, his legacy the fruit of his loins. But now he has to do something about another little lad.

After pottering about the kitchen for a little while, buying some time to think about what he is going to say to his new neighbour, he puts on his jacket and bolts the front door behind him.

As he descends down in the lift to the basment, he still thinks about what to say to Zexion. This is a very sensitive subject, so he can't just come out and say it. It would be so much easier if he was still in the force, or if he was still in SOLDIER. He had a lot more confidence in those days. He can still go out after daylight hours without worries, enter this damp-looking basement without thinking something is going to attack him, but now he is a civilian, he feels more mortal. He has less power than he used to have, and he sometimes misses that.

He reaches the other end of the dank basement, finds the door to be unlocked, and takes the stairs up all the way to the top floor. The second building is a little more rundown then his, with the walls flaking and the light bulbs dim and humming with lingering energy. One of the teenagers in the building has written an obscene joke on the wall: _I wish my girlfriend was as dirty as this._

Lexaeus finds the flat adjacent to his, number 5665, and stands in front of the door like an idiot, like a teenaged boy waiting to knock on the front door of his crush's house. He clears his throat, shifts his heavy weight from one foot to another awkwardly, and sighs, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Alright… Let's see if anyone's home…"

After a few false starts, he reaches up and knocks politely at the door.

**OOO**

On the other side, Zexion is standing by the door, with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders like a cape. He silently presses his ear against the wood, listening to the steady knocking of someone's fist. He doesn't answer but he waits. After some time and a couple more knocks, he hears someone sigh (a deep, gravely sigh. Is that Lexaeus?) – and hears them walk away, heavy-footed (That was defiantly Lexaeus.)

Zexion pulls away from the door, placing his hand against the doorframe. If it was Lexaeus, why was the man outside? Maybe the boy worried him a little last night, with the way he acted. Great, now he feels bad.

He turns away from the door, not looking around the window-covered, empty living room as he returns to the comfort of the equally-as-empty bedroom. Their suitcases are all open and their contents are strut around them. He can't be bothered to put them back in. He just crawls into bed, trying his best not to disturb Maxi. After giving the dosing kid a smile and a kiss on the forehead, he curls up on his side, facing the window. He had drawn the curtains over the cardboard, just in case. It seemed to do the trick.

The small body on the other side of the bed rolls over and presses up against his back, arms snaking around his waist to embrace him. That familiar, soft mouth near his ear breaths those haunting words in an airy, sleepy voice.

"I'm hungry."

As Maxi spoke, Zexion swear he felt the kid's sharp front teeth nip at his earlobe. That meant Maxi was "stomach hungry". Not "head hungry" or "love hungry", as he would put it. He was hungry in the normal sense of someone being hungry. With a sigh, Zexion meshes his fingers with that of the child's, never turning around to face his son.

"I am too," he mumbles. "I'll go out tonight. I promise. Just go back to sleep."

He waits for a while, until he is sure that Maxi is sleeping again, making little snores and mumbles in his sleeps. A monster's growl rumbles in the pit of Zexion's own gut and it hurts. He stifles a groan, clutching and pressing his stomach to suppress the pain. It only helps a little. He furrows his brow because he hates this. He hates doing this. The cycle he has to live through. It was annoying, tedious and just plain… horrible… but it's the only way. He can't keep Maxi and himself hungry.

He closes his eyes, trying to get himself back to sleep. Sleeping is what he needs at the moment. He has a long night ahead of him.

**OOO**

Irvine pulled the car into the parking lot after they went through the drive-through. They have two hours before they had to show up at Balamb Academy so he and Zack have enough time to stuff their faces with an early morning burger deal each.

"I haven't been at Balamb in ages." He chuckles, taking a slip of his milkshake as he places his feet on the wheel. "I have lot of good memories in that place. I was the best damn shooter there."

"I bet you were" Zack mumbles with a smile, a little too occupied with the last of his fries. "But since SeeD has been demolished, it's full of second-generation mako kids, right?"

Another chuckle from Irvine, "I wouldn't say it's full. There are a hundred of them at last. Eleven years with one class each. Can you believe that? They get a whole school for eleven classes. When it was a SeeD school, there were ten-thousands of us. A school made for thousands now holding a group of less than hundred seems stupid but the kids have nowhere else to go, you know. They are too different and are a bit too freaky to be around normal chi-"

He pauses mid-sentence and nervously, cautiously glances over to Zack in the passenger seat, who is looking back at him with wide, mako-blue eyes glowing like beckons, the rim of his coffee cup resting on his bottom lip, staying there.

"…Not that I think makos are freaks or anything" Irvine says very, _very _quickly, trying to dig himself out of the hole he was trapping himself in. "I know quite a few makos- I mean people infused with mako. I was just voicing the opinion of the swallow-minded. Not my own-"

Zack laughs, shaking his head. "Gods alive, Kinneas. _Relax_." He reaches over and ruffles the young man's hair in a brotherly manner. "I know you didn't mean anything by it, and you're acting like I'm going to rip your head off. _Jeez_."

"…Sorry, Zack."

"Forget about, mate. I already have." The ex-SOLDIER runs his fingers through his own spiky hair, sighing. "Now, if I was Tifa, I would understand why you're shitting bricks right now."

"But she's not a mako."

"Nah. But Cloud and their kid is, right?"

"Kid?" Irvine blinks, looking dumbfounded. "They have a kid?"

"Well, it's not theirs really. Not biologically" Zack explains. He wipes his mouth on the back of his hand, licking away the tangy taste of the ketchup. "Denzel's was adopted. He's staying with a friend and his own adopted kid while we're here."

"Ah." Irvine nods his head. "That explains things… Wow, everyone seems to be getting children. Hell, even Squall got his girl knocked up."

"Thinking of having some brats of your own, Irv?" Zack asks with a silly grin on his face. "Imagine it; little Irvine-juniors running around with pop-guns."

Irvine laughs with him. "Ha, ha, I don't think so. I'm happy being a bachelor at the moment…"

They fall into silence for a moment, the only noises disturbing the quiet now being the crackling of the police radio and the car heater vibrating. A few people walk across the almost empty car park: a group of teenagers with quick bites to eat, a fat woman with enough chicken nuggets to feed ten, truck drivers pulling over for breakfast.

Zack sighs wryly, making the seat recline a little. "I can't believe we are going to a school to talk about a fucking murderer. This is just sick, man. We are properly going to scare them shitless."

"I don't know" Irvine shrugs. "Kids are pretty clued up nowadays. When I went for one of those drug talks with Selph, they knew almost everything. The street names, what they looked like, if you could smoke it, snort it, inject it or put it in tea. Now that's scary…" He puts on a smile. "On the plus side, this is letting us get away from Squall and Seifer for a few hours."

"Mm. Yeah. That's a bonus." Zack looks over to the gunner, arching a brow. "What the hell is it with Almasy and Leonhart anyway? You could cut the tension between them with a spoon."

"Teenage rivalry is all. How sad is that? Ever since we were in SeeD together, all the way through the course, they were at each other like dogs. You know their…" Irvine draws an invisible line diagonally across his face with his finger.

Zack nods his head. "Yeah. You can't miss that really. They are just there all the time."

"Well, they did it to each other. They got into a scrap."

"What? They got into a knife fight?"

"No. Gunblades. It's a miracle that they didn't blow each other's heads off."

"Oh Gods," Zack chuckles, "What have we gotten ourselves into?"

"Be grateful then you didn't have to share a room with them in SeeD." Smiling at boyhood memories, Irvine turns the key and the police car comes to life, roaring and spluttering from slumber. "We better get going. Don't spill at dip on the dashboard."

**OOO**

Tutorial lessons are normally used for PSHE. That's all the classes about everyday life and the things that the pre-teen students needed to know about, like personal health and safety, and sex education, the birds and the bees, how bad drugs are and sometimes they had to watch silly old videos about safe sex with a pompous-sounding woman narrating the most non-graphic, scientific smut scene ever playing out on the screen. Basically, it's everyone's favourite subject because there are no exams, it's all about them and it's just comically bad.

The Year Eight class are considered the lucky bunch this year around because they got Lulu as their tutorial teacher. She is, without a doubt, one of the best teachers at Balamb Academy. She used to be a combat instructor, but after having her son, she became a normal teacher. "Normal" in terms of subject; she doesn't look nor act like a normal teacher at all, with her twisted hair and purplish make-up. It's never a surprise that she never gets told off for it or that the students never make fun of her behind her back. She is just that respected.

"Instead of our normal class today" Lulu tells the group of fifteen scruffy kids before her, fresh from the playground after morning break, "we are going to go to the assembly hall with the other years for an important talk." The woman walks around the front desk and perches herself on the edge elegantly. "Two members of the police force are coming into talk about the so-called "ritual murder" to you all."

This sparks interest in all the children and they start to talk amongst themselves, a low hum of voices vibrating through the air. All, that is, except for Lex, sitting quietly in the back of the class, head propped up on his arm and in a world completely different from this one. He is still thinking about Maxi: is he alright? Is he safe? Did he have a good breakfast this morning, if any at all? Did he have another bath so he felt clean again? …Is his father treating him right?

Lex doesn't know what it's like to be hit by a parent. Lexaeus never raised a hand to him; never even threaten to hit him if he misbehaved. His dad always feels bad if he accidentally stands on the child's foot, never mind accidentally smacking him. He can't be sure if Maxi is being abuse, but in the pit of his stomach he can't help feeling worried.

Lulu claps her hands a few times, signalling that the children need to settle down again. They hush each other up and the lady continuous. "I want you all to be on your best behaviour in the assembly," she tells them. She lowers her gaze a little. "It is true that we live in dangerous times, children, but there is no reason to panic. If you have any questions, you are free to ask the police officers in full confidence, or you can always ask me or one of the other teachers… Please listen to what the officers have to say today."

"Yes, Lulu" the class say together, perfectly in time like a choir, all but one voice joining in. Noticing that someone is missing, Lulu casts a careful eye over the class and spots Lex staring off into space, lost to the world.

"…Lex?" No answer. Lulu raises her voice, "Lex Stone." The whole class turn in their seats to look towards the back of the class. The boy still doesn't look around, and the woman's brow creases. "Mister Stone." Lex doesn't even blink, so Xenia gives him a helpful, heavy whack on the back of the head with a textbook.

"Ow!"

The other kids giggle as he clutches his crown and glares deadly over at Xenia. Xosé and Dexter laugh under their breaths. Lulu rolls her eyes a little.

"I guess that is one way to get someone's attention" she muses to herself, walking on over to the back of the room. She puffs out her chest a little and crosses her arms on the boy. "Lex Stone, what have I just been talking about?"

Lex blinks. "Mm. Oh? You said policemen were coming to talk to us about the murderer, Lulu. Miss, _Ms Lulu_, Ma'am."

The teacher quirks her brow at the young lad, "Good, you were listening, despite being so wrapped up in your own little world. Care to share your thoughts?" Lex looks around the room shyly, everyone's glowing eyes on him and only him. He hunches his broad shoulders, as if trying to make himself appear bigger to scare off predators.

"It's personal, miss."

He is saved by the bell, ringing earlier than usual.

"That means everyone has to go to the assembly hall now" Lulu explains. "You children go on ahead and I will lock up the room." Chattering amongst themselves, the students pick up their rucksacks and shuffle unorganized out of the door, fixing their ties and hair a little bit to keep the school's image up, so not to be told off by the headmaster. Lex stays in his seat; he doesn't even put away his pencil case.

"Come on, mate." Dexter pulls his jumper over his head. "We are going to miss the good seats."

"And Xaviera can't keep a line of five safe forever" Xosé points out.

"You guys go ahead" Lex says quietly. "There is something I need to do first. Just safe me a seat or something, okay?"

"You are alright, right, junior?" Xenia asks, sounding a little worried about her friend. "You're blanking out a lot today."

"I'm fine" Lex smiles, not sure if he is actually lying. "I'm just having one of those days."

Reluctantly, his friends leave the room and Lex breaths heavily, his chest tight and hurting. He doesn't understand why he feels like this. He doesn't even know Maxi or his father but he is so worried and he even panics over this at times.

"Lex. You're shuddering." The boy looks up, seeing Lulu looking down. She looks concerned, her mouth tense. She rests her hand on his crown. "You're all red and hot as well. What is troubling you, child?"

"…Lulu." Lex gently removes the woman's palm from his hair, looking away. "I'm really worried about someone. I don't really know them but… I think this kid on my complex is getting abused."

Lulu blinks, calming sitting down on the desk. "Is it a child at this school?"

"No" Lex sighs, shaking his head. "He's only just moved into town."

"If it's a child outside the school, I'm afraid I can't get involved" Lulu says to a regretting tone.

"But that's the thing. I not even sure if he is get abused or not. He was acting weird and he has a bruise on his face but… I told my dad and he said he would get it sorted out, but what if he doesn't?"

"I know your father and he is a very clever man." Lulu raises, a slight smile on her full lips. "If something is happening to that child, I'm sure he will find a way to help him. Now, we must go to the assembly hall with the others."

"Yes, Lulu."

When Lex makes it to the hall, everyone is already there in their seats right at the front. Since there is so few of them, the whole student body only takes up the first few rows. All the other thousands of chairs go to waste. He finds his friends along the last row at the back, taking the seat on the end. He can help noticing that Xenia is being very jumpy in her chair.

"You need to go to the toilet or something, Xeni?" he asks.

"Check out who's on the stage" the girl whispers, pointing. Lex looks, and sees two men in police uniform. The one up in front is Irvine; everyone knows Irvine.

"…What's so special about Irvine?"

"Not Irvine, you dummy!" Xenia barks. "The other guy, do you know who that is?" Lex looks again, towards the other man; black, spiky hair, a scar on his cheek, mako eyes just like them. He looks familiar, but it's hard to place the face. "It's _Zack Fair_, you idiot" Xenia hisses, a grin on her face. "He's one of the SOLDIERs who joined AVALANCE. He's a fucking legend!"

"He's just a guy, Xenia" Xosé sighs by her side. "Calm down. Me and Xaviera have seen him lots of times. Haven't we, frostbite?"

"Yep."

"What?" Xenia furrows her brow. "You never told me that."

"You never asked" Xaviera points out. "He's Aerith's boyfriend. You know, the priestess who goes around to all the temples. Sometimes he goes around with her to the Shiva temple just out of town. We can introduce you if you want."

"…Not now," Xenia gains some composure. "Not when everyone is buzzing around. You can take me to your temple some time."

**OOO**

It's four o'clock, post-sunset.

Lexaeus finds himself back outside the door of flat 5665 of the second building ready, ready to either knock or run. He has to try again. Maybe they were not awake this morning, or maybe they left very early. They should be home by now. They have to be. After one last deep breath, Lexaeus knocks on the door.

There is some noise on the other side of the door, like frantic banging of plastic tubs hitting together. Someone runs over the door quickly and undoes the bolt locks, the latches and opens the door as far as the chain will let it. Zexion peeks out, his eyes wide as he sees the man standing there, and Lexaeus can see that the boy looks terrible.

He is haggard and tired; the shadows under his eyes have deepened, his pale skin looks like a sickly shade of grey, and his hair looks almost silver in this light, the poor thing.

"…Lexaeus?" he mumbles, airily. "W-What do you want?"

"Zexion, I want to talk to you about a serious issue" Lexaeus says quickly but calmly. The boy's eyes widen even more, if that is even possible, until they are as large as dinner plates, and he shakes his head.

"This is a bad time, Lexaeus. I will speak with you some other time." He tries to close the door sharply, but Lexaeus puts his foot in the way, blocking the gap. Zexion shudders, looking up again. "Please remove your foot, Lexaeus."

"Zexion, please, just for a moment."

"…Very well. I'm listening."

Now that Lexaeus has the boy's attention, he doesn't know what to say. "…It's about your son."

"What about my son?"

"Well… It's just… my son saw him and-"

"What?"

"A-And he saw that he had a bruise on his eyes, and he fears that someone has hurt him badly. He said Maximus was acting oddly too-"

"Maxi is just shy and awkward around people" Zexion insists in a rushed tone, "and his bruising… he's a clumsy little thing. He fell over."

"And landed on his eye?" Lexaeus is starting to feel doubtful. "Zexion, is something going on? I am only looking out for the child's best interests. If someone is hurting him then…" Lexaeus falls silent, watching Zexion's eyes widen, pupils almost over taking the irises. The door slams in his face, the chain rattles off its lock and it flies open. Zexion storms out of the flat and into the hallway, looking wilder then an enraged lion. He slams the door behind him.

"You mean" he growls, "if _I _amhurting him! Don't you?"

Lexaeus moves away, and his back meets the wall. "That is not what I said."

"But you were thinking it." Zexion looks like he wants to rip someone to shreds, his hands tightening into bone-white fists. "Listen here. I am the last man in the world who would hurt my child. I would never think of harming him in any fashion. And who the hell do you think you are? What gives you the right to think that when you don't even know me? Stay away from me and my son! I have something more important to do then talk to a judging bastard like you!"

Zexion closes the door in the face of the shocked Lexaeus again and stands in his hallway, shivering with rage and fear, a cold sweat on his brow. He is on edge. He needs relief.

He hears Lexaeus sigh outside the door. "I guess this means the drinks are off then."

The man sounds so sad, as do his footsteps as he walks away. Zexion frowns and he is so tempted to open the door again and blurt out an apology, but he can't do that. He can't apologise to that man. As he remembers what Lexaeus told him about Maxi, he furrows his brow and shouts.

"Maximus!"

His voice echoes off the bare walls and it is followed by compete silence across the whole flat. Zexion again. "Maximus! Come here!"

It takes a while, but the little boy finally appears from the bedroom, an expression of fear and worry on his face. His father crosses his arms over his chest. "Come over here, Maximus." Maxi gulps and slowly makes his way over to the man, not in a rush to approach him. He keeps his eyes on the dull carpet, not daring to look at his father's burning stare.

"…I just got accused for abusing you" Zexion tells the boy, trying to control his voice. "Apparently a child on the complex saw your bruise. How did he see it?"

"…That man is a liar" Maxi mumbles softly.

"…Maximus, look at me."

The boy doesn't want to. He doesn't want to see his papa being angry at him. Zexion cups his hand under his chin and makes him raise his head. He looks annoyed. "What did you do late night, young man?"

Maxi really wants to cry now. He makes a thick sniffle sound and curls his fingers into fists.

"…I just wanted to talk to someone, Papa. I wanted to talk to another kid… but I got scared and ran away when he pointed out my bruise… I want friends again."

Zexion can't stay angry any longer. His mask of authority slips and he leans down to kiss the child's head.

"You know that if everything was different I would let you talk and play with other children" he mumbles against his ear, "but you know that we can't… Am I not any fun anymore? Is that why you are looking for children to play with?"

"No, no, Papa. I really, really like playing games with you… but I want to play with children who are my age too… You want friends your own age too, right?"

Zexion sighs. He can't really deny it. As much as he loves Maxi's company, he would like to have meaningful talks with some of his own age too. Any age! He's not fussy… but he knows that can never happen.

"…We can't do that" Zexion whispers. "If everything was different, then I would let you have all the friends you want, but we can't, kid. Please don't do that again." He kisses the boy on the forehead and picks up his bag, prepped and ready by the side of the door. "I'll see you when I come back." He leaves, locking the door and Maxi inside. The child starts to cry.

**OOO**

7th Heaven is the most popular bar in Kalm, if not for miles around. Its history is large, despite being so young compared to the ancient, hundred year old pubs. Now that it doesn't house AVALENCE anymore, it has become a novelty to go there for sightseers. The townsmen just see it as their own loyal local.

When he steps inside from the cold, the place is already full and half-intoxicated. The air smells of alcoholic fumes and vinegar crisps, all of which wants to make him gag and throw-up all over the floor. He stays standing by the door for a moment, breathing slowly through his mouth, slower and slower until he stops breathing all together. No one notices him. Only a few close-by turn to see who it was, and they turns away when they saw it was nobody they knew. He wanted it to stay like that.

Calmly, he walks on over to the bar, casting eyes over the holidaying youths around the tables. He passes a group of giggling young ladies, sipping on vodka and coke through bendy straws like schoolgirls with milkshakes. He gets a whiff of the one closes to him. She smells of sweat, and flowery perfume, but under that fog he can smell saltwater and sand. He licks his lips; he prefers those who smell like earth the best. It's rich on the tongue, and not too sweet, not too bitter either. She will do.

He sits down on one of the stools at the bar, picking up a drinks menu but not reading it. He only pretends to read it. He just sits there, waiting. After a while, he can hear a pair of heavy booted feet walk over to him and he looks up. The current bar owner (the last one, as he remembers, was a young woman, cute-looking and well-endowed) is a large black man who looks world-weary, with his face scarred and his hair in cornrows. His right arm seems to have been replaced with a robotic one.

"What doya want, pal?"

"I haven't decided yet" he lies. "…However, I would like it if you send a bottle of your best right on over to the blonde on that table over there." He pulls out his wallet and puts some notes on the table, smiling. "I have my eye on her, if you understand my meaning."

The barman chuckles, a sound like thunder. "Sure thing, buddy. Lettme get someone to help ya out." He turns towards the backdoor behind him. "Rikku! Paine! …Someone get their butt down here!"

Someone comes bouncing down the stairs, and a young, skinny lass comes through to the bar, trying to tie her tiny apron up. Her hair is long, twisted into many tight braids with decorative beads.

"Jeez, Barret. No need to yell like that."

"Where's Paine at?"

"Trying to get Marlene and Denzel to take baths. I think she needs back-up."

"Fucking hell." Barret the Barman heads towards the backdoor to go upstairs. "Man the bar, and giva bottle of the good stuff to that gal over there," he points out the target with his cyber-arm, "for this man here." He points to the young man.

As soon as the man is gone up shouting, Rikku the Bargirl bounces over to him, all smiles and loose winter clothing. He could tell she was Al Bhed as soon as he catch the stare of those pretty green eyes.

"You have to excuse Barret" she sighs. "He's a bit of a grump, and he has to look after his own kid and a friend's during this holiday time. Trying times, ya know?"

"I understand" he smiles.

Remembering her task, Rikku fishes out a bottle from one of the fridges under the bar and skips on over to the table. He watches as his predicted plan plays out: Rikku puts the bottle on the table. The gaggle of girls stares at it, confused. The target tells Rikku she didn't order it. Rikku tells her something and points him out. The girl takes the bottle to hand and walks out over to him. It's show time!

"What do you think you are trying to pull, mister?"

He looks up to meet her face. She is a beach babe, pure and simple; both tanned and bleached from the sun. She is a cute young thing. Not drop-dead gorgeous, not goddess-like but beautiful as her own kind can get. She isn't drunk yet either; her sea-blue eyes are clear and liquidized.

He smiles charmingly. "Can't a guy buy a girl a drink?"

"A drink?" She holds up the bottle. "This is enough for ten drinks."

"So I'm generous" he shrugs.

"Hmm." She doesn't understand his game, his edge, what he was trying to do. She believes that he is trying to get her attention because he likes her. That is what he wants her to believe.

After a while, she sits down with him and they get chatting. Because he doesn't want a drink and she can't polish off the bottle herself, there is some left-over when they decide to go for a quick walk. Her friends don't really think it's a good idea for her to go wandering off with someone they don't know but she just giggles and tells them not worry; he's slim and her height, not a big, burly tough bloke, and _besides, _he's really cute, despite looking so tired.

The two of them brave the cold night air together and have a nice stroll, side-by-side. With his sweet, boy-next-door smile, he tells her his name is Zo (the liar) and suggests that they should visit the woods. She happily agrees.

**OOO**

Ever since his father told he want happened between him and Zexion, Lex has been awfully quiet all night. He didn't talk during dinner and chewed softly, and then he went to his room while Lexaeus finished the washing-up and checks out of the window.

Lexaeus can't see any lights on at Zexion's flat. Maybe he's in a room on the other side of the flat. That is very likely the case. The man sighs as he places soup bowls on the draining board. He was only looking out for a young child's welfare and then a moment later, he gets shouted at by the parent, which is understandable if Lexaeus was mistaken and his words had truly offended Zexion… or, on the other hand, Zexion could have been putting on an act. If he was, he is bloody good actor.

Lexaeus raises a wet hand to his forehead, rubbing an aching temple. He was only trying to help. He didn't mean to upset Zexion. Now the boy would probably hate him forever and ever, just because he was trying to play the nice guy.

"Dad, I'm sorry."

Lexaeus turns around and sees Lex standing in the doorway, looking towards the ground, and he seems very upset and downhearted. Lexaeus dries his hands and temple with a dish towel.

"What are you sorry for?"

"For causing a rift between you and the new guy" the boy mumbles. The man sighs and opens his arms up in a welcoming manner. Lex shuffles over and joins him in a hug.

"It's not your fault" Lexaeus mumbles against his curly hair. "You only wanted what you thought was right. No one can blame you for doing that… and if I get a glimpse of Zexion again, I'll try to apologise to him. It will be alright."

"…Okay. You're normally right, Dad so I will trust you on this." Lexaeus lets himself smile. "Is there anything I can do for you?" Lex asks out of helpfulness.

"Well, I've already finished the dishes and everything… Actually, there is something." Lexaeus walks on over to the waste bins in the far corner of the kitchen and takes off the swing-lid of the one for recyclable junk. He takes the bag of trash out and ties it shut. "If you don't mind, can you run down to the dumpsters and throw this in the green one?"

"Sure, Dad." Lex takes the bag easily enough and slips on his coat and a pair of shoes before heading out of the door.

He knows that he's not meant to use the lift to take the garbage out, but he just wants to get it over and done with. When he is down on the ground floor, the boy opens up the bolted door, turns the corner around the outside of the building and finds the dumpsters, the green one against the wall of his building and the black against the other building's wall. With a few grunts of effort, Lex pushes the lid up and throws the bag in. He quickly closes the top again, coughing with the stench. It's not as bad as the general waste dumpster, which is full of rotten food normally, but it's still pretty stinky.

As he brushing his hands against his trouser legs, Lex suddenly gains the feeling that he is being watched. Wary, he looks up and down the little alleyway but sees nothing. Nothing but darkness… and then he think about looking behind.

Slowly, reluctantly, he turns all the way around and screams in shock as he meets a pair of icy-blue, hatred-filled eyes. He jumps back in his started state, his back crashing against the green dumpster. It takes him a while, but Lex starts to recognise that the angry-looking, gargoyle-crouched creature perched on the flat top of the black dumpster was only Maxi, and he was a very pissed-off Maxi tonight.

He looks so annoyed at Lex, his brow and nose wrinkled with his scowl. Lex almost gulps at the sight. For some reason, somehow, Maxi looks worse than he did the night before. The shadows under his eyes are deeper, making his face look like a skull with black sockets, his eyes just hovering there. His skin is so pale and ill, it looks almost grey in the dim lighting, and - this might be Lex's sight going funny but - there are a number of silver strands in his hair, glistening in the shine of the moon. He looks dreadful, but at least the boy is dressed properly tonight: shoes and everything.

Lex feels a little confused to how Maxi managed to get up there so quickly, without making a single sound but he tries to ignoring that thought for now. He has a child who looks like he wants to murder him to worry about.

"…Hi, Maxi" Lex says quietly, trying to smile but he can't make himself do so. "…It's nice to see you again-"

"Papa does not beat me."

"…What?"

"My father doesn't hurt me!" Maxi squawks crossly. "You told your father that Papa beats me up, but he doesn't and I got into big trouble with him! Why did you say something like that? _How could you?_"

Lex blinks at him. What happened to that shy, timid pyjama-boy from before, and why has he be replaced by his bitter, red-faced screamer? …then Lex realises what the kid is talking about. He starts to shake his head over and over again, turning a little pale himself.

"No. No! It's not like that." Lex takes his rest his hand against Maxi's knee but the boy shuffles back sharply, rejecting him. Lex tries his best to not look too upset. "It was your bruise and the way you were acting… You were acting very strange. I thought that something bad had happened to you."

"Why do you care?" Maxi barks. "You're not my keeper."

"I just got worried about you" Lex admits. "You looked so small and scared… I just wanted to help…"

After the quiet words, Maxi starts to relax his face from a picture of hate into a confused, childishly-curious expression, his irises softening, his eyes melting from an ice-cold stare to pools of blue warmth.

"…You were… worried about me?"

"…Yeah, a little" Lex says with a nod of his head.

"Oh…" Maxi shifts, looking a little uncomfortable. He stands up on the rusty dumpster, looking to the side rather that Lex's face. "…I guess I was acting weird before… I was just… I'm sorry for shouting."

"It's alright." Lex finally manages to smile weakly. "…Do you want to talk about it?"

Maxi glances down at him, staring through a curtain of hair. "You want to talk?"

"Yeah."

"To me?"

"Of course."

"Mm." The little boy shifts his slight weight from one foot to another. He nibbles his chewed lip thoughtfully. "…I-I guess we can talk for a little while."

"Cool." Lex points over to the playground in the courtyard. "How about we talk under the play-castle? We won't be disturbed under there."

"…Alright." Maxi jumps off the dumpster and lands perfectly on the balls of his little feet, as stealthy as a cat. Lex looks at him, dumbfounded… Maybe Maxi is just perfectly balanced, or maybe he used to do gymnastics. He would have to ask him about that. "Shall we go and talk then?" the boys asks, staring up at Lex with a questioning look.

"Um. Yeah. Let's go."

The complex's playground is like any other playground out there in the world. It has a seesaw, a swing set, a merry-go-round, a jungle gym, a sandbox which is currently covered up for the winter weather, and a big slide. It all used to be bright and colourful once upon a time, but as far as Lex can remember they have always had chipped paint and the yellow has faded so much that the black metal underneath is showing through.

In the middle of the playground, there is a structure in the shape of a castle, with a smaller slide, different ways of climbing up it and some chin-up bars. Under the castle there is a sheltered spot with a two-seater bench to sit on. Some teenagers have carved things into the wooden walls and seat; insults and ruddy pictures but there are some initials inside oddly-shaped hearts. Why they did it, Lex doesn't know.

The boys sit down on the bench and stay there in complete silence, staring down at the tarmac. Lex runs his fingers through his long hair and sighs, breathe fogging up in the chilly air.

"…May I ask you something, Maxi?"

"What is it?" the little boy asks, lifting his head a little.

"…How _did_ you get that bruise on your eye?" Lex asks softly. He watches as Maxi draws his hand to his face and cups his eyes under his palm. After a moment, the boy drops his hand and smiles up at Lex sweetly.

"…Someone very mean didn't want me to forget about them" he asks simply.

Lex's mouth tenses. "You mean a bully?"

"I guess you can call him that," Maxi shrugs. Lex nods his head like he understands when he doesn't really. Maxi seems like someone a bully would target: small, frail, and weak-looking. Lex has never been bullied in his whole life. He is too big and too tough to be made into a target. He is the type of child who stood up for the targets against the mean tyrants of the school. That's why he doesn't truly understand.

"…Does it hurt?" he asks.

Maxi shakes his head. "Not anymore."

"That's good… So is it just you and your dad here?"

"Always has been."

"Where's your mum?" Lex knows that he shouldn't really ask such personal questions but Maxi doesn't seem to mind either way. He pushes some silky, slate hair out of his pretty eyes.

"Mama died giving birth to me" Maxi explains. "Apparently, she wasn't very strong and my birth was difficult, so she died in the end."

"Oh…" Lex frowns. "I am so sorry."

"Don't be. It's alright," Maxi smiles up at him. "I don't mind that much anymore… Do you still have your mother, Lex?"

"No. She died when I was little… She got cancer."

"Oh." Maxi frowns. "That's very sad."

"How is it sadder than your mum's passing?" Lex asks.

"Because you knew your mother and it's always harder to say goodbye to people you lived with and grew to love."

Maxi has a point. Lex didn't know the boy would say something so mature. He pulls his coat around his frame, blocking out the chill.

"So… have you enrolled into a school yet, Maxi?"

"Nope."

"I go to Balamb" Lex says, trying to strike-up a conversation. "It used to be a SeeD military school but it's more like an average school nowadays… It's mostly for second-generation mako children now..."

"…Are you a mako?"

"Yeah. Dad was in SOLDIER, but he quit after a couple of years… but he had the operation."

"Ah. I see." Maxi smiles. "That's why your eyes are so pretty."

Lex blushes and stares at Maxi, started. "What?"

"Mako makes your eyes glow, right?" Maxi asks. "Your eyes are very shiny and pretty."

Lex can't help but smile a little. People have said his irises were very bright for his eye shade but… no one has ever called them pretty before. He was starting to feel embarrassed.

Not really paying attention, he doesn't notice that Maxi almost doubles over in agony, clutching onto his stomach. He's beyond hungry, beyond starving. He has to stop himself from groaning and whining, lest Lex may notice. Then the child blanks out completely. He's looking towards Lex, gazing at the crook of his strong neck. He can smell him.

The smell coming off the bigger boy is amazing. He smells of sweat and dirt and the air, and it's wonderful. It's natural but special too. There was something a little different. Or maybe it's just the sense of starvation that's talking.

Either way, Maxi is salivating. A whispering, wordless whimper escapes his throat, and his eyes narrowing, irises grow dark and dilated. The aroma is a toxin. He's more or less high. He parts his pale lips and widens his soft jaw. If someone was here to watch, they would have been able to see that his white teeth are very sharp. If they had the eyes of an eagle, they would also see his pointing canines suddenly grow a little bit, become longer. The child leans up silently and closes the gap between his mouth and the bare flesh…

"Ah-choo!"

Lex sneezes and Maxi jumps back imminently, eyebrows arched in surprise. "What was that?"

"Sorry. I only sneezed."

"Oh. Bless you, then. Do you have a cold?"

"No, it's you." Lex smiles. "You smell funny."

"I… smell funny?" Maxi echoes.

"I don't mean bad. I mean… odd. I think." Not wanting to hurt the boy's feelings, Lex trying to think of something nice. "But sweet. You smell like sweet musk, if that's the right word."

Maxi pulls an unsure expression at first, which makes Lex feel a little bad about what he said, than the boy smiles and giggles a little in a light-hearted way. "You're _weird_, Lex."

The boys share a little chuckle between them. Lex reaches out and he finally touches Maxi on the shoulder. The boy feels a little cold, maybe because he isn't wearing a coat.

"Do you want to play for a while?" he asks.

Maxi's eyes widen. "Together?"

"Of course together, silly," Lex takes hold of his hand, and Maxi gasps a little. The older boy feels very warm against his skin. It feels nice. "What do you want to do first, Maxi?" Lex asks nicely.

"…Swing set" Maxi smiles. "I want to play on the swings."

"Alright then," Lex gently pulls Maxi out of the hidey-hole, guiding him over towards the swing set. "I'll give you a push."

"Thanks." Maxi sits down on one of the black rubber seats, clutching onto the chains with his small, pale fingers. "Hmm, can you push me gently, please? I don't feel so good."

"Are you sick?" Lex asks, sounding concerned.

"It's just my tummy," Maxi smiles. "I'll be fine."

"Alright, if you're sure;" Slowly, Lex takes holds of the cold, thick chains and pulls the swing and Maxi's meek weight back. Maxi weights practically nothing, like a life-size dolly, all for Lex to play with and no one else. Lex smiles at the thought and pushes. Maxi goes swinging forward, sticking his feet out straight before him, then pulls them back in as he falls. Lex gets his palms on the small of the child's back and pushes him lightly again, just enough to give momentum. "Is this the right speed?" he asks.

"This is perfect," Maxi smiles over his shoulder. "Don't stop, Lex."

"I won't." Lex finds himself grinning like an idiot but he doesn't care. He's enjoying himself, and Maxi is enjoying himself. That's all that matters.

The boys haven't noticed this but, up in the kitchen window of Lex's flat, his father is watching them. Lexaeus was thinking of calling Lex in now, but he doesn't have the heart to. Those kids are having fun, and they look happy. With a smile, he walks away from the window, leaving them alone for now.

**OOO**

"It's a bit chilly out here, isn't it?"

"Is it?"

"Well… I think it is. You have your coat wide open so I guess you don't feel the cold like I do."

As they walk down the woodland path, he pulls his jacket a little more tight around his body but doesn't button it up. "I used to live somewhere where it snowed most of the time, so I guess I got used to the cold."

"Really?" His new female companion arches her perfectly-plucked brows. "Where do you come from? Icicle? …You don't really look like you are from Icicle."

"No, no." He shakes his head. "I'm from out of the country all together."

"Oh." The girl smiles a little. "You do have that type of air about you. Do you remember your home country?"

"Sadly, I can't." He pushes his hair out of his face. "I was only a babe when we moved and I haven't had the chance to go back for a visit."

"That's a shame." The girl tugs at the hem of her shirt, making sure it was reaching her knees like it was supposed to. "But I guessed you were not from Icicle because people from Icicle are normally big-framed and large is size." She smiles in his direction. "You look too regal and high-class to be from there."

He chuckles, letting his himself smiles with amusement. "And I guess from your accent, tanned and freakily completion, and your curly, sun-bleached hair that you are from the West… Costa del Sol, maybe?"

"Fourteenth generation" the girl says with a sense of pride. "I'm only here for the Christmas holidays with my friends. As much as I love it, everyone needs a break from college. Am I right?"

"Too right."

"So where do you study?"

He blinks. The girl is convinced that he is a college student like she is. Well, even if he is twenty-three, he must admit that he is a bit young-faced for his age. He could pass as a sixteen year old in the right light. It's not her fault that she is mistaken.

He scratches the base of his neck. "I go to Dollet" he lies. "I'm taking a literature major."

"I'm majoring in literature too" the girl says cheerfully. "We are going to start studying _LOVELESS_ when classes start again, as part of the "Importance of Friendships Expressed in Modern Literature" course." She says the last part in an old tutor's voice, dry and stuffy. He chuckles with her again. "Have you studied _LOVELESS_ yet?"

"We are going to study it soon." More lies.

"I've already read it" the girl admits. "I know it's only just came out but it is a great little story. Critics have already dubbed it the holiday's must-buy."

He smiles at this news; he is glad.

"It's getting a little late" he states, glancing at his watch, telling him it's almost half-past eleven. "Don't you want to be getting back to… where are you staying?"

"A hotel in the centre of town" the girl shrugs. "It's just some of my friends back there, and there is no rush, is there?" She trails off the path a little and leans up against a black-bark tree. The moonlight glowing through the bare branches casts twisted shadows over her, "unless _you_ want to go home?"

"I don't." He walks over to her and places his hands on either side of her body. He's smirking and she is smirking back, her hand reaching up to play with his silky hair. "Who said I want to leave?" And he leans forward a little, brushing his lips against her. She reacts instantly, her hand moving to rest in the back of his skull to tug him closer. She even rests her other hand shyly on his butt and he laughs softly against her teeth.

He takes it slowly, so not to startle her or cause offence. He rests his slim hands over her hips and rubs circles through her skirt. Then he pulls her closer until their pelvises meet, rubbing a little together.

She smells of perfume and hairdresser-approved shampoo on the outside but as he coaxes her mouth open, he can taste the vodka mix of her previous drinks. It's not enough to make him gag but he has to stop himself from scowling. If he did, she might notice and pull away too early and would be bad.

His cold hands travel over her hips and sides, over her arms, and rub her shoulders. Nearly there. She is too busy kissing back to notice his hands rests on the base of her flushed neck now, and too busy to even feel them rest around her throat. Something starts to not feel right, feeling his grasp tightening, tightening hard and strong-

_Snap._

He catches the freshly dead body in his arms, baring the weight like a heavy sack. The poor thing, didn't know what was going on, but she died kissing, maybe happy. Her head lolls freely, her neck broken, broken by him.

He takes the body deeper into the woods, away from the path and he finds a sturdy-looking oak with large lower boughs. He jumps up and hangs from one, to test the strength. It doesn't even groan. Perfect.

He jumps back down, and takes the bag off his back. He finds his long length of rope and starts to tight it around his victim's ankles. He doesn't even bother taking off her shoes for her Time is too slim for that.

He throws the other end of the rope over the branch and pulls hard. She flies into the air easily, arms dangling by her head, her tight shirt slipping down her thighs a little bit. Not the most decent way of treating her but it's the only way about it.

Now comes the easy bit. After tying the rope around the truck, keeping it tight, he pulls out a few more things from his bag: a container for some form of car fluid, a funnel and a hunter's knife. He places the funnel in the opening of the container, places the container under the body, then lightly pulls at her hair, forcing her to bare her slim, tanned neck to him and he makes a clean, deep cut. Blood runs.

It is the life force of humans. Without it, they are fucked and die. The gravity makes the red liquid flow fast into the funnel and down into the container. He licks his lips, like a dog before meat. The smell is wonderful, mouth-watering but he keeps most of the humanity he has left in check, in order to stop himself from feasting.

After a long time, the flow dries up and he lets go of her hair. Her whole body has gone pale from blood loss but he knows there is still some in there, somewhere. He strews up the cap of the container again, puts the dirtied equipment away in plastic bags and stands. Fully up right, his mouth reaches her thighs. The aroma in his senses, strong enough to taste, is making him go mad with hunger. Just a quick bite, just a small suck…

He rips the material of her tights on the inside of her left leg and sinks his teeth into her flesh. He hits an artery with some blood left within it and it bursts into his mouth. He moans, intoxicated as he feeds, red mixing with his saliva. He only drinks for half a minute until he makes himself pull away completely, gasping for air. It's not enough but it will be for now. He cleans his lips with a handkerchief, then thinks of a way to get rid of the body. He remembers seeing a lake along the path before as they were walking down. That would do.

He carefully sets her back down onto the ground gently, packs his rope away, throws his bag back over his shoulders then picks her up in his arms, cradling her bridal-style. He walks with her back up the way they came, not along the path, until he sees a body of water. Luckily, the cold hasn't frozen it over yet so he places her into the lake. Her lungs are still full of air, so he picks up a large stick and pokes her down and farther away, coaxing the body to sink. Soon, she is gone, lost in the darkness, hopefully forever.

Like nothing ever happened, he walks back to Kalm and catches a tram-train to Radiant Gardens.

On the walk back home, he purposely passes one of the shadier parts of town and finds a phone booth with lots of cards pinned up above the phone. He steps inside and looks at all of these pink and white offers. Some of them are very disgusting and perverted, boosting the ones who pinned them up a little too much. He kept his little blue card simple and to the point: _Small, slim, 24 year old male; can pass for a teen. Nice features & quite experienced. 1000 munny per hour for any services, but no S&M or bondage. Night appointments only. Clients pay for rooms and extras. Interested? Call-_

You get the picture.

**OOO**

He knows it's nearly midnight but Lex isn't ready to go back inside. He's having too much fun playing with Maxi. It's like being back in nursery school, when a child meets another for the first time in the morning, and when the parents come to pick them up, they are the best of friends. That's what has happened with him and Maxi.

Maxi wanted to have a go on the seesaw in the playground so Lex agreed, even if he weighs a few more pounds then the little boy and he has to do most of the legwork.

"It's been a while since I played with another kid," Maxi admits as he rises skyward, his hair bouncing around his smiling face. "I don't really make friends that easily, since we move around so much… It's hard to find people who want to play with me."

"You must have had some friends," Lex mumbles. He can't believe that Maxi was a complete bully-magnet. He must have found some friends who liked playing with him.

"Well…" Maxi nibbles his bottom lip in thought. "For a long time, I was really good friends with some children I knew… but we had to move."

"Oh. Alright then."

"…Am I friends with you now?" Maxi asks.

Lex smiles. "Of course we are. We're playing together, right?"

"That's good," Maxi says happily, but he quickly loses his smiles, groaning and holding his head between his head. Lex stops the seesaw, his feet on the ground and Maxi high in the air.

"Are you alright, Maxi? Is this making you nauseous?"

"I have a headache" the boy mumbles, his face scrunching up in pain, "and my tummy _really _hurts."

"Let's get you down." Carefully and slowly, Lex climbs off; keeping his hand pressed down on the seat so it doesn't rise suddenly and drops Maxi. He controls the raise of his seat and in turn, Maxi is lowered to the ground safely. Grumbling under his breath, the younger boy tries his best to clamber off his seat… but he stumbles and crashed ungracefully to the ground with a yelp. Lex runs over, worried. "Maxi, are you alright?"

"I'm okay." Maxi rolls over from laying on his front, to lie on his back. He smiles and presses his hand against his forehead. "It's just a little bump."

"Let's have a look." Lex kneels down on the floor by the child's side and checks his skin. No lump has formed, nor any bruising. Maxi must be one of those boys who can take a pounding. That makes Lex wonder how much that hit to his eye hurt if it managed to mark him. "It doesn't look too bad…"

He trails off. Those eyes are making him lost for words again. There is no moonlight shining through the clouds, but Maxi's eyes still glow intently. His whole face is quite attractive. Lex gulps. "You're really pretty," he says shyly with a smile. Maxi lolls his head to look at him, his expression that of genuine surprise and happiness, a little open-mouth smile on his lips and a glint of something like glee in his eyes.

"Really? …You think I'm pretty?"

"Yeah. I mean… I know you're a boy but you are quite pretty." Lex reaches down and brushes the reminding strands of hair out of the child's eyes. "You should be a model."

"A model?" Maxi sits up, running a small hand through his silvery hair. "Like in those glossy magazines, that wears fancy clothes?"

"Yeah, exactly," Lex's smile grows even more. "You could easily be on the front cover."

"Hmm." Maxi makes a thoughtful sound and holds his legs, resting his soft chin against his knees. He thinks about Lex's flattering comments for a long time, before coming to a conclusion. He stands up and turns around, smiling sweetly at the bigger boy with a kindly look to his eyes. "I'll only be on the front cover, if you are on it too by my side," he demands in a pleasing tone. "I will need your handsomeness nearby to balance out my prettiness."

Lex chuckles. "You think I'm handsome?"

"Very!" Maxi walks over to him and knells before the boy, touching his arm. "I think you are very attractive, Lex."

"…Thanks." A soft flush covers Lex's cheeks; grown-up have always told him that he was a good-looking kid but it feels different when a child closer to your age tell you that, because children are honest, even when they don't mean to sound mean.

"Lex!"

A voice calls from above and the children look upward towards the window of Lex's living room. Lexaeus is leaning out of the window, already wearing his nightclothes. "Lex, what are you doing? Come inside and get ready for bed."

"Alright, Dad" Lex hollers back. "Give me a second." When the man closes the window again, the son turns back around to face Maxi and sighs. "I have to go inside now. It's getting a bit late."

"I understand…" Maxi glances up towards the window and can just make out a large, shadowed figure. "Is that your daddy?"

"Yeah, that was Daddy- I mean Dad. He wants me to get ready for bed now… Where's your dad?"

Maxi sucks his bottom lip. "He went to the shop. We hardly any food in the kitchen since we just moved and we had to settle in first before we got a lot of stuff in."

"Right, right," Lex stands up, brushing down his clothes. "You better go back inside, Maxi. It's not safe for you to be out here on your own."

"Yes Lex," Maxi smiles with a nod of his head. He bites his lips, wondering about something. "Mm… Do you think… you can play with me tomorrow evening?" Lex blinks at him and Maxi blushes, looking towards the floor. "It's just that I haven't made any friends yet, and you're really nice to me and I really like playing with you so… can we?"

"Sure" Lex smiles. "I'll play with you again."

Maxi grins brightly. "Great! Same time tomorrow, then?"

"Deal." Without even thinking about it, Lex wraps his arms around Maxi's frame and gives his a hug. The little boy feels extremely shocked at first, not expecting a hug, but slowly, relaxing, he smiles and embraces Lex back. The bigger boy feels very warm against him. It feels so lovely that he seems a little sad when they have to pull away. "Goodnight, Maxi" Lex smiles.

"Night-night" Maxi smiles back and the boys make they separate ways to their buildings giving each other waves of farewell as the doors close behind them.

Lex runs up the stairs, almost flying, with a big grin on his face. He feels great. He has made a new friend, which isn't a bad way to have a good time. In fact, it was an awesome way to spend the night. He almost skips into the flat, and his father is standing there in the hallway, an amused smile on his face. Lex pauses, still smiling, taking his hat off his head and playing with in between his gloved hands.

"…Sorry for staying out so late, Dad."

Lexaeus chuckles, shaking his head. "It's fine. Just go and get ready for bed." The child nods his head and put his outside clothing on the hooks by the door, before going to his room. Lexaeus leans against the doorframe, watching the boy strip out of his school shirt and trousers change into his pjs. "…Did you boys have fun playing together?"

"Yep." Lex nods his head again. "Maxi got the bruise from a bully, not his dad. I feel bad for blaming him now. Should I apologize?"

"I don't know" the man shrugs. "We are not in Mister Read's good books at the moment… but you are a good lad for playing with Maxi tonight. That kid looks like he needs a few good friends."

"I said that I am going to play with him tomorrow too," Lex tells his father, slipping on his beaten slippers. "Can I?"

"Of course." Lexaeus raises his gaze, and looks out of the bedroom window. The bathroom light of the flat across the way is glowing through frosted glass. "Just don't stay out too late tomorrow…"

**OOO**

It was nice to be back in the flat again, even if it is the least homey dwelling in the building.

Zexion closes the door behind him and only relaxes when every lock and bolt has clunked and shut. He sighs happily, as he draws the chain across. Tonight hasn't been so bad; he didn't run into anyone on the way back and the weather has been fair. The night has been pretty easy on him.

After kicking his shoes off by the door, the man makes his way towards the bedroom. He finds his little son sprawled out on the bed, wearing pyjamas and reading a ratty, dog-eared book. Judging from the cover, it's _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_. It's one of the few books they still lug about them everywhere. Zexion chuckles; no matter what, Maxi will still have a place for literature.

The boy looks up from the pages and smiles. "Papa, you're back." He slips off the bed, messing up the covers. "It's very late, you know. It's almost one." He pauses and stares at the man, looking hopeful. "Did you get some?"

"Yes." Zexion nods his head and lifts up the rucksack in his hand, giving it a shake; something wet and thick sloshes around inside. "Come into the kitchen and I'll pour you some."

As they go to the kitchen, Maxi bounces at his toes of his bare feet, the pupils of his blue eyes becoming more and more dilated with every second. Zexion tries not to notice it. He pulls two mugs (the only mugs they have) out of a cabinet, and atop of the kitchen table he pulls the container out of the bag. The man winces as he hears his child scrap his fingernails against the varnished table top, like an animal ready to pounce.

"Control yourself," Zexion tells him in a stern fatherly manner.

"I'm hungry," Maxi says, echoing his words from this morning and there is defiantly a growl to his voice. An animalistic, feral one. Zexion shudders. Steadying his breathing, he unscrews the cap of the container and tries to pour the contents into the cups. Maxi can't hold on any longer, and with a snarl, he makes a grab for his blue cup.

"Maximus!"

Zexion makes a grab for it too and the cup slips from their grasps. Blood splashes onto the table top and their hands.

The man sighs an uneven breath, drawing his redden fingers to his face. Droplets drip off his fingernails and he has to close his eyes to push back bad memories. "Are you happy now, young man?"

"A little." Maxi is slurping at his fingers like an infant comforting itself. He makes soft rumbling noises as he licking the skin clean. "It tastes a little… alcoholic?"

"The girl had a few drinks before I took her out of the bar," Zexion admits, "but it's not a lot. It shouldn't make you sick." He puts his own fingers in to his mouth. He didn't notice the vodka taste before, but that was when he needed the blood and didn't care about the flavour. "Alright, let's try this again." He stands the cups back up, and with shaking hands he pours all the blood into the cups. He sits down on one of the chairs, pulling his son onto his knee. Maxi is still lapping at his hands, trying to get at the red hiding under his fingernails. "You're going to cut your tongue," Zexion mumbles softly in his ear. He picks up the blue cup up from the table and holds it before the child's lips. "Have a proper drink."

With a feeble gasp, Maxi takes the mug into his hands and brings the delicious fluid to his lips. His tongue darts out and, in an almost kittenish manner, he laps the blood up like pure water. A little trickle runs from the corner of his mouth, down to the point of his soft chin. Pleased that Maxi is finally starting to calm down, Zexion picks up his own cup and drink in the same cattish manner, lithe tongue getting every last drop.

Once the purple mug is drained, Zexion puts his mug down and places both of his arms around Maxi as the child finishes off. With his own drink polished off, Maxi hiccups and closes his eyes; the satisfaction of being full and the small shot of alcohol in his system making him feel drowsy.

"Time for sleep" Zexion mumbles kindly, taking the mug from those hands before the kid dropped it. "Sweet dreams, Maxi."

It doesn't take long for Maxi to drop off, his head falling back as his eyes fluttered shut. Zexion pushes all the hair out of his youthful face. He reminds himself that all of this - the town hopping, the draining, the street-walking - was all for this little child in his arms. If he still didn't have Maxi by his side, Zexion would have cast himself into the burning sunlight years and years ago.

His eyes notice the trail of red on the boy's chin, and he bows his head. He hasn't quenched his thirst quite yet, so he can't stop himself from licking the blood of his son's pale skin. Still not quenched, Zexion picks up his head up again and stares at the spillage on the table. He makes a curious purr noise, and then shifts the boy in his arms so he can bend over and run his tongue over the table. It isn't a very clean way of doing things but Zexion doesn't give a damn. He was finally starting to feel better. The hunger was going away, and he finally felt relaxed and full.

When every drop, every inch is cleaned up, Zexion raises his head and licks his mouth, resting his cheek against Maxi's crown. He can't stop himself from purring and smiling. Years ago he would have been disgusted with himself for feeling happy about this, but he got over it.

There is no blood left, safe for some coated on the insides of the mugs and container. Those will need to be washed out, but not at the moment. He is far too tired and far too slated to focus on even such a trivial task. Slowly, he stands up, baring Maxi's weight in his arms as he puts the kid over his shoulder and takes the two of them to bed. Zexion is still smiling greedily, and he still has the aftertaste.

**OOO**

The house was completely abundant and slightly- no, _very_ ruin-down when they found it. It belonged to no one, so they decided to make it their new, temporary living space; squatter's rights and all that. There was enough room for the fourteen of them; two bedrooms but they made do, as soon as they covered all the windows, tarring them up with black, fumy paint they found in the cupboard under the stairs.

There is also a smaller room, maybe once a tiny study because the last inhabitancies (before them, of course) had left behind a bog-standard desk and chair pushes up against the far wall. They didn't bother painting the windows in this room in the end.

In utter silent, safe for the creek from the old chair, Xemnas King sits down, facing the window. He holds his hands, lacing his long fingers together and places them on his lap. It's the dead of night, and the others are still fast asleep from travelling all the time, so he was on his own with just his restless mind.

It's been a decade, ten whole bloody, goddamn years since this wild goose-chase started. All of this packing everything up, relocating, being-so-close-yet-so-far nonsense was stressful and annoying, but Xemnas had made a promise, years ago, and Xemnas is never one to go back on a promise. He is nothing but a man of his word. That one thing keeps him going nowadays, all of these promises. He wasn't going to break one now. Not after spending so long at keeping it alive.

"Father?"

A soft but clear voice politely interrupts the quiet, and Xemnas turns around in his chair towards the study door. Standing there is a young boy; palely tanned like him, thin and long with a heart-shaped face but with off-white, nape-long hair which was brighter compared to the man's long, silver locks, and his shining eyes are a hazel shade, not amber. Like a ghost, he just hangs there in the doorframe, akin to a street urchin in his baggy jumper and summer shorts.

Xemnas waves his hand with a 'come hither, chid' air and the boy pads over in his bare feet. He walks around his parent until he is standing before him, then sits down on the floorboards, legs crossed and hands on bony knees, like what a child would do in infant school before a teacher. He just stares up at Xemnas, as if he is the most interesting thing to ever fall from the sky.

Xemnas arches a brow at the kid. "What do you want, Xoán?"

"What makes you think I want something?" Xoán asks, still staring.

"Because" the man leans down and cups the boy's chin with his fingers, tilting his head back a touch, "when you want something from me you never ask, but stare at me until I get the hint. It's like you're scared to ask."

"I'm not scared of you" Xoán smiles, his grin small but cheeky. Xemnas gives one of the child's tresses a short, sharp tug as punishment but nothing more.

"What do you want?" he asks his son again.

"Nothing." The boy shuffles out of the man's reach, trying to protect his hair. "I just woke up and you were not there. The others are still asleep, just so you know."

"And so they should" Xemnas agrees. "We have been moving around too much and have not rest at all." He stands, walking around Xoán to get to the window. He can just make out his reflection in the pane of glass: haggard, tired but still handsome for a man like him. "You should be asleep too, child. You look exhausted. Those dark shadows under your eyes age you too much…"

They fall into silence again. Deep silence. Xemnas doesn't turn away from the window, doesn't look at his son. He stays wrapped up in his thoughts and becomes completely unreadable. Xoán stands up from the dusty floor and brushes himself down clean.

"…You're thinking about them again, right?"

"They are fools to think that they can outrun us." The man turns around suddenly, quite passionate about it all. "I know it's been hard to keep a tail on them but we will find them."

"I know, I know." Xoán nods his head slowly. He walks over to the man and gives his forearm a friendly pat. "I think, right now though, you need to get some sleep, Father. You're tired too."

"After I think about a few things" Xemnas sighs, gently pushing the small hand away. "I need to get my head cleared or I will never get to sleep."

"Fine. Just don't stay up too late." Xoán turns around and heads towards the door, but then starts to slow down, stopping completely in front of the way out. He looks back over his shoulder, a pitiful beggar's expression on his face. Too tired to stop himself, Xemnas lets his stoic mask slip and a weak smile dresses his mouth.

"I knew you wanted something."

"…It's just…" Xoán turns around, embracing himself. A slight tremor passes through his skinny body. "We haven't feed in so long… and being a child, it's harder to… I-I am really hungry and all… I need… something. Something… Anything…" Xemnas understands the stuttering and nods his head. He perches himself on the windowsill.

"Close the door and keep quiet." He pulls the cuff of his shirt up on his left hand, revealing his wrist, baring it to the lad. Xoán's eyes grow with hunger, licking his thin lips. He keeps enough control to shut the door properly, and takes his time to cross the study, breathing hollow. He takes hold of Xemnas' arm and pulls it up closer to his face, his slavering mouth and parts his said, his sharp teeth on show.

He bites down onto the brownish flesh with a growl and Xemnas manages to swallow a noise of pain before it escapes his throat.

It would have to do for now. A vampire's dead blood tastes wonderful and all, but human blood is what the child truly craves. They are all craving it. The travelling made it hard for them to feed properly. Small animals were the only things they could grab to bite but it isn't the same. They could drink horses, cows, choboco from farmyards and it will only push back the hunger for a day or two. Three tops.

Xoán groans and snarls, the blood drawing into his mouth, quenching his need for now. After a while, he withdraws his fangs and his lithe tongue cleans the wound he left behind for the last few drops. Xemnas pulls his arm away from him, looking at the bite. It was nothing too bad. It would heal in a couple of hours. He looks up at the boy, who was still licking his chops for blood.

"Now it is time for you to go to bed" the man says calmly. "And I don't want any backtalk."

Xoán nods. "A-Alright." He looks a little better than before, a little healthier-looking. He rubs his saliva-coated mouth on the back of his hand. "Goodnight, Father."

"Goodnight, Xoán."

The boy left without another word, trying his best to get all of the traces of blood off his person as he closes the door. Xemnas pulls his shirt sleeve back down and covers his hand over the area the wound is. He decided that the coven will stay here for a while, to get their rest and feed, before they return to the search.

Jaw clenched, Xemnas turns back to the window, remembering. Those runaway idiots don't know what they have gotten themselves into. Because they _will_ get Zexion and Maximus, even if they have to drag them back, kicking and screaming.


	4. How I Wonder What You Are

_**Chapter Music: **__"Twinkle, Twinkle" from the "Dead Space" OST._

* * *

**Rust on the Lock.**

**Chapter 4.**

**How I Wonder What You Are.**

_In the dark blue sky you keep, and often through my curtains peep. For you never shut your eye, till the sun is in the sky. As your bright and tiny spark lights the traveller in the dark - though I know not what you are - twinkle, twinkle, little star._

**ooo**

For the past couple of weeks, Lex and Maxi have been meeting up in the apartment complex playground at seven o'clock in the evening, and they have been playing together every night until ten o'clock, when Lex has to go to bed. He still doesn't know when Maxi goes to bed, but he doesn't think to ask. Lex tries not to think about asking a lot of things. He doesn't see Mr. Read that often, and he really hopes he doesn't see him anytime soon. Maxi said that his dad works late on the nightshift, and that is all he said. He didn't seem to mind that he had to stay all alone during most of the night, since he gets to play with Lex, to keep him company.

Lex hasn't told his other friends about Maxi yet. He has only just met him, and the tyke is _awfully_ shy anyway. Introducing him to lots of people at the same time may rattle him a little. He's a fragile kid, after all. Just one step at a time.

"Your hands are massive!" Maxi squeaks, smiling as he presses his palm against Lex's, giggling at the size difference. Lex smiles too, chuckling through a closed mouth. They were playing on the swings a while ago, until Lex started to feel tired, so they went to hide under the wooden castle frame. Maxi is still acting playful, snuggling up against the bigger boy as he sits on his lap. The little lad is still very bouncy and giddy. _Honestly_. Lex doesn't know where he gets his energy from.

"I think it's more of a case for you being tiny" Lex points out. He laces their fingers together, warmth against cold skin. "…I'll have to go inside soon, Maxi. It's getting late."

"Oh, please don't." Maxi leaches onto the largest boy's shirt, a killer but cute pout on his bottom lip. "It's the weekend. Surely you can stay out a little bit longer. Please, Lex."

Lex laughs and shakes his head. "Alright, alright. Stop begging. I'll stay out until Dad calls me, but only because it's isn't a school night."

"What's your school like, Lex?" Maxi asks in a soft, little voice, a even softer smile on his slight mouth. "Is it a nice school?"

Lex nods his head, his eye focused on Maxi's pink mouth. "It's great… as far as schools go." He runs his index finger over the line between the kid's bottom lip and the skin of his chin. "Has your dad enrolled you into a school yet?"

Maxi pulls away, soft mouth tensing, and he looks at the ground. "No, but we are going to move sooner or later, there's no point."

"Oh." Lex tilts his head to the side. "That's too bad… Maxi, have you ever been to school?"

"Of course I have!" Maxi blurts out, defensive and insulted. "I'm not stupid or anything!"

"I know you're not! Sorry. I just didn't know."

"…Alright… Oh, look!" Maxi points back out of the castle enterence, a big grin on his face. "Look, Lex. It's _snowing! _It's really snowing." He jumps off Lex's lap, and wiggles out of the castle into the open playground, giggling. Lex sighs, smiling to himself and follows.

Cold, fragile flakes are falling from the black sky above, from nowhere, landing on his face and melting in a instant. It is indeed snowing, and that makes him smile. He can't go to Icicle this year, but the Icicle weather seems to be coming to them instead. He sticks out his tongue, catching some of the flakes in his spit. A rather large snowflake lands on the very tip of the damp muscle, and he shivers from the chill, broad shoulders shacking.

Maxi copies and doesn't shiver an inch.

Lex doesn't notice, as he is far too busy looking up at the sky in wonder and awe.

No matter how old you get, the first snowfall of the season always amazes people. He pushes his gloved hands into his coat pockets, and blinks when he feels something large inside. Then he remembers, and pulls out the paper bag of pick-and-mix sweets be bough during lunch today. Grinning, he manages to pull out two sweets - a lime jellybean and a foam banana - and pops them into his mouth. "Want some, Maxi?"

The smaller boy turns around to face him, arms still out to embrace the snow, and his head cocks to the side as his gaze falls on the white bag. He reminds Lex of a curious kitten. "What's that?"

"Pick-and-mix." Lex stretches his arm out, shaking the bag so the sugar goods rattle and bump together. "Take as much as you want."

Now Lex knows that, normally, a little kid would jump to the chance of free candy, and their grabby hand would be in the bag in a flash… But Maxi is not like that at all, opting to just stare out the bag, his pretty face scrunched up in confusion and uncertainty. His arm relaxed a little, dropping down. "What's wrong?"

"…I'm not allowed sweets" Maxi mumbles, shaking his head.

"…Not even one."

"No. Not allowed."

"Are you allergic to something?" Lex asks. "Or hypoactive?"

"No, no. I'm just not allowed to have any."

"Oh, come on. I'm sure one can't hurt." Lex walks on over to his friend, holding the bag up again, smile friendly. "I won't tell if you won't."

Maxi can't resist the handsome smile on Lex's face. He isn't rude, so being the polite young boy he is, he timidly reaches into the sweetie bag, and pulls out a jelly-baby. A fat, red, flour-covered jelly-baby that reminds Maxi of a hardened, deformed blood clot.

It doesn't help.

He can feel the taste of bile building in the back of his mouth already, but he swallows it all back down, and pops the clot-baby into his mouth, chewing fast and his face becomes more white by the moment. Lex stares, unsure about what is happening. Then Maxi claps his hand over his mouth, and goes running across the playground, disappearing around to corner to the dumpsters. A sound of someone gagging and throwing up follows.

When Lex gets there, Maxi is just vomiting stomach acid. He didn't even manage to open the dumper's lid and throw himself over the edge, so sick is splattered on the ground, up onto the dumper's side. Lex shudders as he sees the state of the sick: dark, and it looks sticky, like melted black toffee, but it doesn't smell sweet. Not at all.

Maxi must be really, _really _ill.

"I'm sorry, mate," Lex mumbles. "I shouldn't have made you." Maxi takes a few breaths, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. He looks more white and frail then normal.

"It's not your fault," he tells Lex, voice wavering and weak, snow clinging to his hair. "…I think I better go inside now."

"Yeah. You do that." Lex strokes the hair out of the kid's eyes. "Go and get some sleep. You'll feel better."

"Yeah. I hope so." Maxi wraps his arms around Lex's waist, giving him a farewell hug. "Night-night."

"Goodnight." Lex nuzzles the boy's scalp. "You're going to be alright?"

"Yep. Don't worry."

Maxi gives his pal a trooper's brave smile, showing him that he's perfectly fine, then makes his way towards his building. Lex watches him until the lad is safe behind the door, then looks down at his sweetie bag. He has never seen someone have a reaction to one jelly-baby like that before. Maybe they are bad sweets… but they look and taste alright to Lex, and they are all in-date. He brings the bag to his face, and inhales the aroma.

No poison.

Just the smell of tangy sugar, and artificial fruit flavourings.

**OOO**

"_- And finally, our main story on this snowy Monday morning: the search for missing college student, Victoire Seras continues. Twenty-one year old Victorire, from the Costa del Sol, was taking a holiday break in Midgar with her fellow students until twelve days ago, where she was last seen leaving the 7__th__ Heaven bar at about midnight, with a young man, said to be in his early-twenties; eye-witnesses' descriptions of the man are so far between, police have said they cannot rely on the information fully._

"_The press have started to question the opposability of this disappearance could be linked with the murder of twenty-three year old waitress Mina McMurray, now known to the public as the infamous "Ritual Murder." Earlier this afternoon, the captain of the Midgar Police Force, Seifer Almasy, along with Captain Squall Leonhart of the Radiant Garden Force, spoke in a media press-conference about the missing girl. This following is a segment of the conference:"_

"_The disappearance of Miss Seras has sent an unnerving wave of panic and worry across the media, and the public. Her family, and indeed her friends, have been gravely effected by this, and are praying for their loved one's safe return. As our duty, we are trying our very best to find her, and to also bring an end to the suffering of Mina McMurray's family, who wish for their daughter's murderer to get what he deserves."_

"_Captain Almasy, is there any positive evidence that this disappearance is linked with the so-called "Ritual Murder"?"_

"_I do believe that this is a very common question being asked at this time. I'll allow Captain Leonhart to answer."_

"_Thank you, Almasy… At this current time, there is virtually no evidence that the disappearance of Victoire Seras is linked to the murder of Mina McMurray; apart from the obvious fact that both victims were young women in their early twenties… However, at this time, we are not dismissing the possibility of a link between the two events either. If that is the case, the police will work long and hard to find Victoire, before she falls into a similar, devastating fate as-"_

"_-BUT DON'T CRY LIKE A BITCH WHEN YOU FEEL THE PAIN!"_

"Demyx, I was listening to that," Lexaeus grunts, furrowing his brow at the boy across the shop. "Turn it back."

"Oh, come on!" Demyx spins around in the chair behind the counter restlessly. "That news-thing was boring the crap out of me."

"At least turn off that rubbish music, then" the man orders. "It nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Oh, fine. We can sit in silence." With a moody frown, Demyx switches the radio off, and folds his arms over his chest. "I hate those press-conferences. They are so boring to listen to… How do you cope with them when you were in the force, Lexaeus?"

"A half-bottle of whisky" Lexaeus jokes, a smirk on his lips. "It made picturing everyone in their underwear far more easier."

"So you weren't so nervous?"

"No. It was just plain funny."

From the stockroom, Saïx and Vexen come out half-carrying, half-dragging a new, still taped-up box along the floor. Saïx looks around, puzzled. "What happened to the radio?"

"We can't listen to it, because Lexaeus is a boring old fart," Demyx huffs.

"Oh. Alright then." The men manage to drag the box over the window, and Vexen cuts the flaps open with his craft knife. Many volumes of _LOVELESS _are inside the box.

"These books have been on demand, but no one has come by today." Vexen rolls his eyes. "Why did we even bother with the order?"

"Vex, have you not seen the snow?" Lexaeus laughs. "It's probably inches thick out there. Not many cars can get through that."

The phone rings out, and Demyx grabs the reviver sharply. "Joe's Meat House. You pick 'em, we kill 'em…"

"Demyx!"

"I mean, Academic's… Oh, hi, Xaldin. It's you. What's up? …Drinks? Oh, yeah! I can totally go… _Yes_, I'll bring my ID this time. Just a sec." The boy covers the mouth piece with his hand, pulling the receiver a little away from his head. "Xaldin wants to go boozing tonight. Anyone going?"

"Xaviera is at her mother's today" Vexen says, and that always means 'yes'.

"I will" Saïx mumbles with a shrug. "It's been a about you, Lexaeus?"

The brunet thinks about it. "...I'll have to make sure Lex knows first."

Demyx nods and turns back to the phone. "We all can… 'Kay. See you at seven." He puts the phone back down onto the cradle with a clatter.

**OOO**

By midday, Demyx and Saïx left for lunch, but Vexen and Lexaeus have stayed in the store, eating sandwiches they made themselves this morning. As Lexaeus starts on his bunch of green grapes, the front door opens, bell jingling.

"Hey, guys."

"Rinoa?" Vexen stands and greets the girl at the door, brushing snow off her shoulders for her. "What are you doing here?"

"I came for a book," Rinoa smiles sweetly. "Obviously." She gently pushes his hands away, not wanting to be fussed about. "Don't worry. I'm fine."

"Is it should a good idea for you to be walking around in the cold?" the old man asks. "While you are, well, in your condition?"

"She's not a cancer patient, Vexen" Lexaeus sighs, amused.

"I was taking Squall some lunch" Rinoa explains, pulling off her woollen gloves, pulling the right off by the middle finger with her teeth, "and I need to pick up a book order anyway, so I stopped by."

"I better go get your book then." Vexen takes a pause to remember. "…It was that baby book, wasn't it?"

"Yes." Rinoa furrows her brows together, looking a little annoyed. "Squall's idea. The worrywart." As Vexen slips into the backroom, Lexaeus stands and walks around the desk, brushing the crumbs off his palms.

He chuckles. "You're a good girl, talking Squall his lunch," he smiles. "Couldn't he buy some food from a store?" A soft sigh escapes Rinoa's lips, and Lexaeus blinks at her. "Rinoa?"

"…To be honest," the girl mumbles, "Squall hasn't been eating much at home lately, and I think he skips lunch when he's at work. So I'm taking him something he might like t make sure he will eat."

"Oh." Curious, Lexaeus leans back on the front desk, arms folded. "Maybe he is just stressed. You know, about the murder. And now this missing girl, and you are expecting a child in a few mouths. That's a lot to take on."

"Hmm…" Rinoa shifts her weight to her left foot. "I hope this whole messy business finishes soon. I think all of this captain stuff is getting to him now." She jumps a little bit as a large hand rests lightly on her shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze.

"Speaking from experience," Lexaeus says softly, "I know how hard it is to be captain of the force, but I also know that Squall is strong-willed, and can handle himself. That is why I nominated him when I went into early retirement. So just focus on yourself and the babe, alright?"

Rinoa smiles. "Thanks, Lexaeus."

**OOO**

Rinoa has been to the police station countless of times. For parties mostly, but she used to stop by after work to wait for Squall, so they could walk home together. Sometimes they would take his squad car, and ride it up to the woods and park up then. It would often lead to making out, or making love. Young love, and all that.

Last time, inthe fall, they forgot about protection.

The floor is just as polished and pale as ever, splattered with wet were people have dragged themselves in from outside, that made her feet squeak against the ground. Padded chairs are lined up against the wall, soldier-like, and the clock behind the reception desk is correct to the last second.

She manages to catch the reception girl before she runs off on an errand. The rookie smiles at her. "The captain isn't back from his press-conference yet, Rinoa. If you want to wait around, he shouldn't be too long." So, the woman sits herself on one of the brown chairs, alone in the reception area, passing the time by flicking through the baby book. It's just a standard how-to guide, covering subjects like feeding, nappy changing, bathing. The bare-bone basics. It's like Squall thinks they should go back to school for childcare. Silly boy.

"Excuse me. Do you need anything, ma'am?"

Rinoa looks upward, and comes face-to-face with a blond man, dressed not in the Garden's black police uniform, but in navy blue. The pips on his shoulder tell her that he is a captain too. She puts the book anyway, and stands up promptly, brushing wrinkles out of her skirt. "I'm fine, thank you. I am waiting for Captain Leonhart for… a domestic matter."

Blondie's eyes widen a touch. "You are Rinoa Heartily."

A bit surprised, Rinoa nods her head. "Y-Yes… How did you know?"

"I'm Captain Cloud Strife of the Kalm force." The man offers a hand. "I've been working with your partner on the murder case."

"Oh. Yes, I recognize you now. Off the telly." Rinoa faces and shakes Cloud's hand. "Pleased to meet you."

"And you, miss." Cloud's smile is friendly, and a little tense. "I hope you are not here to see Squall for a emergency."

"Oh, no" the girl laughs. "I just brought Squall some lunch… Tell me, Captain Strife-"

"Please. Cloud."

"Okay. Cloud, has Squall been eating properly?"

After a moment of brief thought, the man sighs, shoulders dropping. "To be honest, Rinoa - I am allow to call you Rinoa, right? Thank you - I really don't see Squall eating that much, and I've been in his company a lot lately. He eats like a bird, if you know what I mean."

"I thought so."

The double doors open, and Cloud smiles at the newcomers. "Look, here he is now."

Rinoa perks up a little, and sees her lover walking towards them, looking quite concerned by her presents. Another man is with him; another blond with a scar on his face.

"Rinoa," Squall arches a brow, "what are you doing here?"

"Don't worry. I'm not here for anything bad." Rinoa looks from Squall's scarred face, to the another marred by a cut. "You must be Seifer, hmm? I'm Rinoa. Squall's girlfriend. He's told me quite a bit about you. Nice to meet finally you."

"Umm. Y-Yes" Seifer stutters. "Nice to meet you too, miss."

"Give us a moment." Fast and swift, Squall catches Rinoa under her arm with his hand, and promptly pulls her to the side, away from earshot. When he lets her go, he talks in a quiet voice.

"Rinoa, what's wrong? Is it the baby? You shouldn't be walking around outside in this weather-"

The girl rolls her eyes. "Don't be daft, Squall. I just brought you some lunch." She rummages through her bag, and pulls out a clear, microwave-proof tupperwear box. "It's just some left-overs, but it will be just as good if you heat it up."

Squall has to smile. "Thanks, dear. You shouldn't have."

"Well, someone has to look after you," Rinoa shrugs, smiling back. "By the way," she adds, "what time are you coming home? You need to get dress and everything."

The man blinks. "…For what?"

Rinoa's eyes widen in shock. "For dinner, Squall! Remember? We were going out because you've been stuck here, and we've hardly seen each other. I can't believe you!"

"…Oh, Gods. That was tonight?" Squall claps a hand to his mouth, wanting to slap himself. "Rinoa, I'm sorry. I forgot."

"Obviously." Rinoa scowls, brows knitting together. "We planned this ages ago, Squall!"

"I know, I know, but please understand." Although scared about the possibility of having his arm ripped off, Squall places a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. "We are swamped here, with the murder case, and now this missing girl, and- I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you later."

"…You better, Leonhart." Rinoa hands him the plastic box, and after a moment of hesitation, gives him a quick kiss on the cheek. She smells clean, and Squall feels even more guilt. "Don't stay out too late, darling… See you when you get home." And then she leaves without another word, tightening her scarf around his neck and pulling her hat down. Squall watches her slip through the doors into the snow without looking back at him. When she is gone, he looks down at his tupperwear box, and pops open the lid.

Rinoa's chicken caesural.

Seifer slowly walks over to Squall, as if he is trading on eggshells. "Trouble at home?"

Squall shoots him a glare. An nasty, dirty look, staring daggers into him, then storms passed him, to go to the break room and microwave his lunch, then go to his office to eat in peace, straight from the tupper-box. Seifer blinks, looking back at Cloud. "What just happened?"

Cloud shrugs. "Maybe you were being intrusive."

"I was not. I was just seeing if he was going to be alright."

"Just leave him be." Cloud places a hand on the other captain's shoulder. "Let's just get some coffee from the machine, and join the others in the briefing room."

"What about Leonhart?"

"Leave him to simmer down for a moment. He'll be alright. He's got dinner to eat."

**OOO**

Evening time.

Zexion sits down on the toilet in the motel room's on-suit, seat fully down, and quickly punched in a number into his mobile phone. He's shivering, but not because he is just sitting here in his boxer-shorts and his own flesh, and this little dingy motel bathroom has a draft running through it; the tiny window leaving a small gap open at the bottom. He is shivering, because he doesn't really like his place. The dickhead could have paid out more for a hotel uptown, but beggars can't be chooser, right? A job is a job.

Placing the phone to the side of his head, Zexion listens to the ringing, waiting.

_Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring. _

He hangs up, then retypes the number, placing it to his ear again.

_Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring._

Again, he hangs up and phones the same number again.

_Ring-ring. Ring-ri- Crack._

"Hello, Papa."

Zexion can't help smiling at the sound of Maxi's voice. "Hey, mate. Mm, I'm going to come home a little later then planned. The guy I'm with… He's wants more hours then he ordered at first, so I'm going to stay for a little longer. I'll be back well before sunrise though, so don't worry about that.

"…"

"Maxi?"

"…Alright." The boy sounds sad, and Zexion's heart twists painfully. "See you when you get back. Love you."

"I love you too."

Dial tone.

Zexion stands and puts his mobile back into his bag, zipping it up. A loud bang at the door makes him jump, and a angry voice bellows at him.

"I'm not paying you to stay in the fucking bathroom all night!"

Zexion sighs, and drops his boxers. He quickly fixes his hair into a sexy bed-head style, then puts on his fake, seductive smile. His slut smile. He turns towards the door, and struts out into the bedroom confidently. His inpatient client stares at him hungrily for only a moment, then grabs him in anticipation.

**OOO**

"Key, key, key, key, key… Where's the key?"

Maxi scratches his head in puzzlement. He knows he put the key down somewhere in the den. He thought it was on the coffee table, but now it seems to have grown legs and ran off without him. Such a naughty key. He can't get out of the flat without it… but to be honest, Maxi shouldn't really have a key of his own. Zexion thinks that he has all the keys, but one evening, Maxi took a set of them, and had them cut behind his papa's back. That was very bad of him, but that was the only way of getting out like… well, normal. He can't keep going through the window. Maxi sighs.

"Guess I need to do that tonight after all." He pulls on his puffy, padded coat, then skips into the tiny, little bathroom. He pulls the latch on the frosted window and pushes it up. It creaks, groaning for oil, but the boy ignores the plea, clambering onto the windowsill. He knocks a bottle of shampoo onto the floor with his knee. "Whoops." He doesn't pick it up again. He checks that the coast is clear, that no people are in the courtyard below. No one. Not even Lex. Which is good.

He swings his legs over the ledge, dangling in the air against the brick outside wall, ducking his head under the window. Balanced perfect on the outside ledge, Maxi closes the window to ajar.

Then jumps. Five floors to the ground.

He lands in the snow perfectly on his feet, then loses his balance and falls onto his bum with a bump. "Whoops."

He stands up again, brushing the snow off his person, looks around again, sees nobody, and goes off to sit on the climbing frame. After a while, Lex comes out through the front door of his building. When he sees Lex, Maxi smiles broadly. Lex is a good distraction; during these evenings, Maxi can forget that his father is draining people's blood ,or getting pounded into the mattress by some horrid, perverted businessman whose not satisfied with the love he gets at home. Maxi furrows his brow for a second. Nasty, gross men. "Good evening, Lex."

"Hey, Maxi." The bigger boy climbs up the bars, and take his seat next to his newest little mate. "I got a really good idea today. Have you been to Midgar lately?"

"Erm… No," Maxi says.

"Because all the city's Christmas lights are up," Lex grins. "Do you want to go and see them with me sometime. There will be lots of market stalls up and there is a ice skating rink in the central park this year. I'll pay for everything so… do you want to go?"

"Yeah!" Maxi's eyes shine with glee. "I'll love to! Can we go right now?"

"Erm." Lex's lips purse in an awkward fashion. "That's a bit sudden, don't you think? I mean, don't you won't to ask your dad or something?"

"He isn't in, and he won't be back until very late. Can we just go now, for a couple of hours? Pretty please."

"Umm…" Lex bites down on his lip, hesitating. "…I-I guess we can go. For a couple of hours. There and back. Nowhere else. Okay?"

"Yes-yes," Maxi grins, sharp pearl-whites on display.

**OOO**

Midgar is alight with strings of green and red fairy lights, golden neon shaped into cartoon snowmen, snowflakes, presents, and bells. Along the streets, buzzing with life and shoppers, window displays match the season. Clothes shops have manikins wearing woollen fashion, angel wings, and tinsel halos. Toy stores have teddy bears and rag dolls wearing paper crowns from crackers. A butcher, who has a big pig model out in front of the shop, bearing chalkboards on either side, had dressed it up as a Santa, so it could advertise the special offer on the turkeys hanging in the frosty window.

In the centre of the business district, there is a large, park-like patch of grass. During the year, it is normal quiet, where people can go to eat lunch in the sun, but, every year on Christmas time, a small market opens there, and it's always amazing to look at.

Lex and Maxi have already spent an hour in the city, and they have had a great time already. They find the man-made ice-skating rink in the very middle of it all, and the boys spent a good while standing at the side, laughing at people who kept falling over, and landing on their bums. They had a look around the shops and stalls, and admired the goods, and trinkets on sale - Maxi really liked the patch-work quilts. Lex preferd the glass hanings for tree By eight o'clock, they sit down on a free bench, and Lex tucked into a bag of popcorn he bought for himself. Maxi said he wasn't hungry.

"So," Lex says around his mouthful of food, "what did you ask Santa for this year, Maxi?"

Maxi smiles, shaking his head. "I'm not that naïve, Lex. I know there is no Santa."

"Oh… Well, what did you ask your dad for?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"Well, I haven't asked my dad for anything yet. I don't know what I want."

"I don't really want anything," Maxi shrugs.

"…You must want something" Lex mumbles, in disbelieve. "Every child wants Christmas present."

"Not really." Maxi jumps off the seat, and brushes himself off. "Can we find a quiet place to stay for a while? It's getting a bit noise."

"…Sure." Lex throws his paper bag into a litter bin, and the lads go off along the streets, and down an alleyway, out of the way of everything. "Maxi, are you alright? Do you have a headache?"

"A little bit." Maxi places a hand over his forehead. "I'm not used to big crowds, but I'm okay…" He trails off, starting passed Lex and points. "What's that?"

Lex turns around. Down the alley, there is a glimpse of a large factory-like building down there, surrounded by a tall, barbwire-topped fence. "…That's the Shin-Ra building. You know, the power company."

"Oh." Maxi's feet seem to have a mind of their own, and he starts to walk down the way, until he reaches the fence, fingers twisting around the metal wire. "It's not every big."

"They have other buildings around the place" Lex tells him. "My dad used to be in SOLDIER for them. They just have Turks now.

"I see… This place look interesting." The youngster starts to walk down the pathway, along the length of the fence. Lex stares after him, and watches his friend as he crutches down, tugging at the fence.

"Maxi, what are you doing?" he asks. The fence gives, and Maxi pulls the wire away, making a hole big enough to crawl through. Lex blinks. "How did you do that?"

"It was loose already," Maxi smiles. He knells down on all fours, and shuffles under the fence. Lex's eyes widen.

"Oh, no. Wait a moment." He runs on over to the hole, but Maxi is already on the other side, out of reach. Lex shakes his head, a little annoyed. "Maxi, this is trespassing. You can't go in there."

"I just what to have a look. Are you coming or not?"

"Maxi, it is not a good-"

"I would like you to come." The little boy smiles ever-so sweetly, cheeks rosy, and everything almost perfect. "If we get caught, you can blame it all on me."

"…I guess, if the Turks find us, we can cry and say we got lost on a tour or something. And we are going straight home after this." Nerve broken, Lex crawls under the fence after him, and the boys go exploring. Sometime later, after just finding a sealed crate labeled "TOP SECRET" next to a dumpster, Maxi finds a door ajar. He scratches and picks, squeezing his fingers into the gap. Slowly, it creeps open, the hinges rusted and brown. Behind the door, there are stairs, leading upwards and twisting at corners.

"What did you find?" Lex asks, catching up to him. He looks up, seeing where the stairwell leads. "No alarms have gone off."

"I think it goes straight to the roof," Maxi smiles. "Let's go."

As the boys climb up the steps, on the other side of the building, from the woods, four creatures catch a scent of cleanliness, earth, and dead blood.

**OOO**

From the top of the roof Lex, wrapped up with his hood up, can see the whole of central Midgar. From the developing slums in the west, to where protected woodlands grow to the east. A cold breeze blows over his face, awaking his senses. The sky is a dark purple, clouded over and starless. He just sits on the tar-coated roof, hugging his knees, staring at the site before him.

"AVALANCE blow-up the old Shin-Ra building years ago," Lex says softly, towards Maxi, but it could have been to anyone. "They were seen as terrorists, but they were trying to save the planet, so I never understood why people called them that. But, I was only little when that stuff happened. Five or something. You didn't understand much when you are that young, you know… You know, Maxi… Maxi?" He turns around, and finds the littler boy standing on the edge, looking towards the woods. Lex stands up suddenly. "…Maxi, get down from there!"

"Something isn't right," Maxi says, his voice wavering with slight worry. "Someone is out there… It can't be…"

"Maxi, I'm not fooling around. It's dangerous standing up on that ledge."

"They can't be here." Maxi is in another world all together. His legs are shaking, lip quivering. He tries to take a step back. "We ran so far away. They can't have found us already."

"Maximus!"

Maxi jumps from the shout, and his foot slips on a patch of ice, making him slip. Lex leaps forward, to pull him back, but it happens too fast.

Maxi falls over the edge, screaming.

Lex backs away, hands over his mouth, face turning white. He can't believe that see up witnessed. He saw Maxi… die. He buries his head into hands, and starts to cry. Maxi is dead, laying in the snow on the ground, possibly bleeding with his skull mashed open. How can Lex explain this? He can't even look over the side to see the body.

Maxi is…

There is a scrap, then another, and a bit of a groan. Lex hiccups, and looks through his gloved fingers. A pale, bare hand suddenly slides over the top of the ledge, then another, and Maxi pulls himself up over the side, tumbling onto the roof as he gasps for breath, shivering in shock. He looks over to Lex, who just stares back, horrified. "How did you…"

Maxi frowns, pulling himself up onto his feet. "…I didn't want you to find out," he whispers. "At least, not like this. Never like this…" There is noise from the other side of the door to the stairwell. A slam of the ground floor door, the clattering of feet against the metallic steps. Maxi gulps. "Hide…"

Lex is frozen on the spot, in a moment. "…How did you-"

"I will explain later." Maxi grabs Lex by the arm, his grip like a vice, and pulls him around the corner from the door, pushing him onto the ground. Lex lands hard, and stares up in disbelieve.

"How the hell did you-"

"Just be quiet, stay hidden, and stay downwind." Maxi runs off around the corner again, leave Lex alone and confused.

"But-"

The heavy door slams open, and Lex shuts his mouth.

Enter four strangers, stage left.

**OOO**

Maxi recognises the four people straight away; the red-hot colour of Axel's and Alexa's hair, the golden gems that are Xigbar's and Xenos' eyes. They are hardly wearing anything: loose shirts, baggy jeans, summer sneakers. The grown men are wearing jackets, but they are wide open, inviting the chill. The girl is wearing little more then a hoodie dress, and knee-height, black, lace-up boots. No tights, nor socks.

Maxi swallows some spit, and raises his shoulders.

"Told you I smelt him" Xigbar grins, absolutely proud with himself. "A bit more earthy then normal, but, still, here he is."

Xenos smiles joyfully. "We are so grad we found ya, mate."

"We were so worried about you, bud." Alexa skips forward towards him, raises her bony hand up to touch him. "It's been ages and-" Maxi jumps away from her, his eyes sharp and bitter, and Alexa backs away again, slowly, back towards her father's side. "You don't have to be so hostel," she mumbles. "Hasn't Zexion taught you some manners during the years?"

"…You should have stopped looking for us years ago," Maxi tells them, suddenly sounding very mature. "We can't come back, and you know it." Axel take one step forward, and Maxi takes six back. "Don't come any closer or-or…" Without a though, the little boy climbs up onto the roof ledge again, and points towards the ground, five stories down. "Don't come any closer, or I'll jump."

Axel barks a light-hearted laugh. "Ha. Isn't that cute?"

"Now really, kid. What do you think we are? We know you will survive the drop." Taking a step closer, Xigbar extends a hand towards the little child. "Come home with us, tyke."

"My home is where my father is" the boy tells them, furrowing his brow.

"Your daddy is coming along too." The one-eyed guy waves his hand in a coaxing manner, his smile nice, scar bending around his dimple. "Come home, kiddo."

Slowly, Maxi's expression soften. He looks like he is holding back a gallons of tears. "…You know why we can't come back."

Xigbar sighs, running a hand through his slick hair to pull out his hair tie. "We don't care about the reason. We will sort it all out. You will come back to the clan."

"I don't think Papa would want that."

"I didn't say "you should", I said "you will"." Xigbar is loosing his cool, and he is a laid-back kind of bloke. "We have enough of this. You and Zexion have put us through this crap for ten years, and we are tried of this."

"Dad, don't-"

"Your father's right, Xenos." Axel's voice is a growl, stoping the boy mid-sentence. "Either you come with us willingly, little boy, or you come back in fucking pieces-"

_Slam_

They all pause, and turn around. The door is wide open, hinges creaking as the wind pushed is from side to side. Down the stairwell, the sound of running boots is become quieter and farther away.

Maxi whimpers. "Lex…"

"…That earthy smell is gone," Xigbar says calmly. "Someone was here."

Xenos starts to worry a little. "What if they get someone?"

"They won't," Axel smile. "Alexa. Fetch."

"Wait! No!" Maxi screams, but they don't listen. Alexa is through the door, and disappears down the stairs in an instant. There and gone like a flash of crimson lightning at sunset.

He can't let this happen. Blood boiling, Maxi grits his teeth and runs, pushing past Axel, makes Xigbar fall over, leapfrogs over Xenos, and closes the door behind him. He grabs a broom left behind a forgetful old cleaner, and slides it through the door handle. Fists bang, nails scratch, and voice bellow on the other side. Axel is screaming every swear under the moon, but Max is already down the stairs, running.

Hopefully he isn't too late.

**OOO**

Lex has never run so fast in his life. His heart is pounding against his ribcage. A layer of sweat is forming on his forehead. His breath is short and rapid. He has never been so scared in his life.

Who were those people? _What_ are they?

He trips and yelps, stumbles down a couple of stairs, manages to brace himself on the rail before he can crash all the way down. He presses his cheek against the cold stone of the wall, his breath harsh and rough in his throat, his heart still fast and startled, fluttering like a petrified butterfly. He closes his eyes. There is silence, not counting the creaking piping along the skirting boards. He can't stop shuddering, his nerves wrecked and ruined with lack of rest and fear. He has never been so scared before, and that was the most terrifying thing about it all. He is out of control.

_Thump._

The boy's eye shoot open, a bead of cold sweat trickling down his nose.

_Thump-Thump- Crash-Scrap- Thump-Thump-Thump!_

Something is coming down the stairs.

Fast.

Lex jumps to the other side of the step and looks up the stairwell, the steps and banister twisting forever skyward above him, like a tight spiral with no end. The boy can see nothing, but can hear it. The sound of feet pounding against the hard steps, skipping many of them, getting closer. For a second, a flash of red appears and disappears a few floors up.

"Shit!"

Body in auto-drive, Lex's legs start running down the stairs again. He runs and runs, but it feels like he is getting nowhere. As if he is running in circles, and his predator is just getting closing to him. So close. Too close. After such a long, long time - or maybe it only felt like that - he actually smiles when he gets to the final floor, and the fire door is before him. He jumps the last three steps, tripped over his feet, and slams into the door.

It doesn't even move an inch.

"No, no, no!" Lex panics, both hands gripped on the bar, pushing it over and over again, tears starting to form in his eyes as his stacker gets closer, and his heart speeds up again to the point of exploding. "Oh, come on. _Please. _Please open up! Please Gods! _Please!_"

He can hear his chaser catching up on him, their feet light on the ground, like they are stomping on air. All of the sudden, Lex lets go of the bar, tightens the muscles in his arm and bangs himself against the door, trying to hit it open with his elbow and arm. The door finally starts to give, the locks shifts, letting it swing open for the lad, revealing the vast ground covered in white snow. Lex stumbles out, a weak, tired smile on his face.

Freedom. At last-

The creature, like a large cat, pounced on his back, digging its talon-like fingers into his shoulders, and pushes him to the ground. Lex screams, getting snow into his mouth and almost chocking on it. He tries to spit it out, only to have more fill his gob. He manages to worm around on the ground, turning his body up.

The redhead girl pins him down to the ground, the balls of her hands nailed into his arms. Her emerald eyes are full of confusion, wide and round. Her slim eyebrows are hitched high up her brow, then slowly lower down into a furrowing scrawl.

"Who the fuck are you?" she growls.

Lex starts to shout and fights against the hold, and manages to free his arm, reaching up to claw at her face. The girl squeals in surprise, trying to slap him away, but keeping him trapped under her on the ground by grinding her hips down into his gut, her bootleg legs tightening around his.

"Get off me, you freak!"

"Keep still- Ah!"

Lex manages to clap his hand around her skull, grasp her short hair and pulls it hard, tossing her to the side. He rolls over, his face hitting the bitter chill of the powder again, and manages to get to his knees.

All of a sudden, he pauses for a moment - in surprise, maybe worry - as he feels liquid trickle down his cheek, gathering at the corner of his mouth. It's only now he can feel the sharp pain in one pinpoint area of his face. He gingerly brushes his fingertips over the source of the wound, and a small piece of glass falls from his cheek. Somewhere in the snow, a empty, smashed beer bottle is hidden under the white.

There is a feline growl.

He stares back at the girl.

She is staring back, her eyes even more wider now, as if they are going to take over her entire face. Now, Lex see her in a new light: grey and silver strands in her hair, hollow and shadowy sockets, mouth salivating like that belonging to wild, staved beast.

Her iris burn with green fire of animalistic hunger.

She is a monster.

In impossible panic, Lex tries to get back onto his feet, struggling with a numb body, locked knees. He falls again, and hears the girl, the monster, whatever the fuck she is, scream like a feral lion cub, and scramble to her lanky, spring-loaded legs. Lex thinks he is going to die, and he has to face the facts that he is never going to grow up. It's a grim reality to face for a child, but he has to. He closes his eyes, and covers his ears, and prays to any god listening for his end to be quick and painless.

The back door slams open, and a sprinting, panting child runs across the ground, kicking up snow behind him, but he hardly trips, hardly stumbles.

As the redhead pounces, the runner jumps too, and the three collide together.

Lex goes flying from the impact, and hits his head on a rocky lump in the ground.

All goes black.

**OOO**

"…"

Maxi doesn't dare open his eyes, fearing the worst. He has a head - Lex or Alexa's - under his small hands, skull and skin broken open, hair and blood and sticky muscle-and-brain mush between his spindly fingers. Like lumpy jam from a smashed jar. He can't tell for seeing but he can feel that the face is turned fully into the snow, and their hair is roughly the same length. The mush has taken away the real texture of the strands - Lex's soft curls or Alexa's courser spikes - and it's all too slippery now.

If it's Alexa, she will awaken and repair herself in a day or so.

If it's Lex, Maximus Read has committed inattention manslaughter.

"…Please don't let this be Lex."

Maxi opens his eyes a little, looking through his eyelashes.

Red hair with red blood.

He breathes a sigh of relieve. Alexa is flat on her face, fisted arms sprawled out like crocked angel wings. One eye is visible and drunk-cloudy, half-open like her mouth. Red liquid is dripping from the gapping cavity. The pure white snow around her is splattered with scarlet.

Maxi removes his messy hands from her head, and looks beyond Alexa's still body, to find Lex laying nearby. He must have banged his head, because the boy looks like he's sleeping, a frown on his lovely face. Slowly, Maxi crawls over to Lex, and carefully moves the human's head onto his lap. He's getting vampire blood all over his face, but Maxi doesn't care about that at the moment. He checks over the boy's face, but there are only bumps and bruising.

Maxi smiles. Lex is just fine.

**OOO**

"Holy shit." Axel looks towards the ground, seeing his daughter with her head leaking blood and other crap everywhere. He knells down by Alexa's side, shaking his head. "Maxi really did a number on her."

"'Can't see the little bugger anywhere" Xigbar huffs, looking around, "or his friend."

Xenos is the only one frowning over Alexa's wounded state. He sits down in the disturbed snow turns her around, making her close her eyes with a gentle pull of her eyelashes. Her dead irises were freaking him out. "Will she be alright? …I mean, her head is, like, all smashed everywhere and stuff."

"She'll be fine." Axel shifts the girl's body around a little bit, and picks her up in his arms. She doesn't make a noise, not even a whimper or a airy moan of pain. Alexa is a picture of a violence, tragic-looking death, like a car crash victim or a suicidal jumper. He pulls her arm up so it isn't dangling lifeless by her side, letting it rest her stomach. "A long sleep is what she needs and then… hang about…" He turns her clenched fist around, and his eyes widened as the sight of cloth, maybe nylon, trapped in the cavity of her hand. "She's got hold of something."

"Really?" Xigbar walks on over, taking hold of Alexa's rock-hard fist. "Let's take a little look-see." The nerves in her muscles had turned stone-like, and unmoveable when they turned dead, so Xigbae has to use both of his hands to get the fist even slightly open. It's like trying to open an all-flesh oyster without a blade. Doing it the gentle way isn't working, and Xigbar huffs tiredly. "…Do you mind if I-?"

"Go ahead" Axel shrugs. "Anything to get it open."

"Right." Xigbar nods his head, and clutching the girl's wrist tightly with a embracing left hand, he grabs her thumb with his right, and breaks the bone along a joint. He then snaps back her index finger, her middle finger. Axel doesn't flitch at the noise but Xenos does, slightly. It sounds like brittle twigs under feet.

Xigbar pulls out the piece of brownish nylon, with a small splatter of dry blood in the corner. He places it against his nose, taking a sniff. The stench of human enter his senses, and a small, pleased smile dresses his lips. "Well, well, well. She may have let Maxi slip, but she managed to get something helpful after all."

Alarms ring from within the building behind them, wailing and calling out into the open. "About time those lot worked out we were here," Xigbar huffs. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

The men head for the barbed-wired fence, but Xenos stays by the puddle of blood. He knells down again in the snow, and starts to shovel up cool white into his hands, and plops it onto the red, burying it away from sight the best he can. It's a mess, but the red is gone after a fast moment. He feels a little better, not having a friend's fluid laying there like rainwater.

"Xenos!" The boy turns around. Xigbar has a hand on the fence. Axel has already jumped the fence, and has disappeared into the forest. "Come on, Xen. We gotta get going." The man jumps over too, perfectly landing on his feet and running off into the woods. Xenos stands and pulls his hands from the snow. Some of the blood has gotten onto his fingertips. He licks them clean, moaning over the taste and sensation.

Before the Turks could burst through the doors onto the grounds, the four vampires are already hidden in the deep, blackened shadows of the forest, running in the opposite direction of a sprinting Maximus…

**OOO**

As Lex starts to come around, he can hear running water close by, and a cold chill all over him. He only has enough energy in his shuddering nerves to open his eyes just a touch. He can see forest scenery; evergreen shrubs, snow-covered dirt ground, a little brook too fast to freeze over yet.

He feels so cold and stiff. So scared. The last thing he remembers is… vampires.

Icy tears spring to his eyes. He was so close to death. He could have died at the hands of a bloodsucking monster. He uses to think the idea of monsters was cool. Awesome even. Now he is shivering in fear from them. He feels a small coat over his frame. It smells clean and soft, just like little Maxi.

He fears a tiny, fragile child.

Still crying silently, Lex tries to focus on something nice, like…

When he was little, and he got upset over something at school or a scary dream, Lex would climb into his father's bed and Lexaeus would give him a cuddle, and sometimes he would sing to him. Just little soppy nursery rhymes but they made Lex feel better about everything…

_Twinkle, twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you are._

Gods, he misses those days. He misses being young and having no worries, apart from what flavour ice cream he wanted and what to do on rainy days… and he misses all the silly little things. He wants them all back.

"_Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky."_

Lex wants tonight to be a dream, a nightmare. He wants to wake up, back in his own comfy bed, and everything is back to normal, where he is warm and safe and there are no monsters. Everything is normal and great again.

"When the blazing sun is gone, when he nothing shines upon, then you show your little light, twinkle, twinkle, all the night."

Someone is singing… It sounds so soft and soothing. Nothing like the rumbling warmth of his father's voice, but it's still… nice. Very nice… and scary. Hauntingly familiar.

"Then the traveller in the dark, thanks you for your tiny spark. He could not see which way to go, if you did not twinkle so."

Gathering all the strength he can, Lex manages to push up on his elbows, groaning with the ache, and looks up towards the sky, towards the bare, leafless boughs of the oak tree he is laying under. A figure is sat quite high up the said oak, sat perfectly sit on a branch, safe for legs swings slowly and steadily.

"…Maxi?"

"In the dark blue sky you keep, and often through my curtains peep, for you never shut your eye, 'till the sun is-" Maxi stops singing suddenly, looking downwards with large, glowing eyes. Lex shivers under the stare, cowering. Maxi smiles brightly.

"Lex, you're awake!" he says in a cheery voice, overjoyed to see that his friend is alright. He jumps down of the tree, landing perfectly on his feet. "Thank goodness. You hit your head very, very hard. I was starting to worry." He takes a few little steps over to Lex, and reaches out to touch his pale cheek. "You look so ill. We better get you-" With only an inch of air between finger and face, Lex makes a panicky noise, like a whimper, and shuffles away from Maxi. The vampire blinks, withdrawing his hand. "I'm not going to hurt you… but if you don't want me to touch you then I understand."

Lex never takes his eyes away from the creature. He feels weak. Like he can't prevent anything from happening to him, even if he tried to prevent it. Maxi just stares back, trying not to seem hurt. "…I'm not going to kill you. I promise."

"So you say." A cold shiver passes through Lex, and he looks down, realising that he is missing his shirt. That is why he had the coat over him, to keep him warm. "Where are my clothes?"

Maxi turns and picks up some cloth. It's Lex's shirt. He holds it out with both hands like a present.

"I had to wash Alexa's blood out" he explains. "I cleaned up your cut too. The scent of your blood is… quite potent." Lex shudders, but not from the cold this time. He snatches his shirt back, and pulls it on hastily. It's not damp, but it's really cold to the touch. Maxi sighs. "Lex, I'm sor-"

"I don't want to hear anything from you!" Lex snaps, pulling his own coat on now. He gets up onto his feet sharply, becomes dizzy and nearly falls over as he tries to stumble off, hopefully in the direction of a public pathway.

"Lex, wait." Maxi walks up to him. "Where are you going?"

"Away from you!" Lex sounds bitter and angry, and is resisting the urge to vomit. "Why am I even talking to you? You're a monster. I'm going home."

"We are miles from the apartments, Lex, and it's not safe."

"I'm not safe with you either! I rather take my chances with a pedo-rapist then you at the moment!"

"Lex! Please!" Maxi grabs onto his sleeve, sharp nails digging into rough fabric. "Let me explain! _Please!_"

Lex pauses, his mind splitting his half; wanting to listen, wanting to run away. He turn his head and growls under his breath. "What the fuck are you?"

"…My father and I…" Maxi says, stumbling over his own tongue. "We are vampires."

All at one, Lex's body seems to freeze, and starts to shudder violently, the cogs within his mind starting to turn and spin madly, matching the quickened rhythm of his heartbeat. It all made sense now. This explained oh-so many things: why he never saw the Reads out and around during the day, why Maxi doesn't eat in front of him, why the boy is so jumpy and giddy during the evening hours, how we survived the fall of the building…

They are monsters.

"…Please tell me you are joking" Lex pleas, his voice nothing more then a hoarse whisper.

"I wish I was." Maxi presses a hand to his chest. "I am a calmae vampire. One of normal traits. So is Papa. We were turned… quite long ago, and we have been jumping from town to town since forever." Lex is still, but pure fury is bubbling up in his blood, like fire and brimstone.

"…How old are you?" he asks, voice wavering.

"I'm nine."

"Don't lie!" Maxi jumps back a little and Lex pauses, taking a breath. "…Vampires can live forever. You could be any age… How long have you been… around?"

"…For about four centuries" Maxi answers, "…And a half."

Lex is as pale as the snow. "…You are a four hundred and fifty year old vampire child."

"No. I'm nine."

"You're not!" Lex bellows. He screams, and walks aimlessly around the place, his head between his hands. "You may look nine and act nine but you're still-" He freezes again, a thought flashing through his mind. "…The ritual murder." He turns around and stares at Maxi. "That girl's body was drained of her blood… It was _you_, wasn't it? You and your dad _killed her _and _drank_ her blood!"

"She didn't suffer" Maxi tells him, shaking his head. "Papa kills quickly."

"…Shit, you _did_ drink from her!" Lex doesn't know what to do. He wants to cry and faint, run away and throw himself into the bitter cold ground all at the same time. Maxi reaches out to touch his arm, but he just pushes his hand away. "Don't touch me! I don't want you anywhere near me! Go away!"

Maxi looks upset, like he is going to cry himself. "Lex, please." He walks a little closer, with the bigger boy backing away even more. "I don't mean you any harm. I like you. I saved you for the others. I really do like you."

"Stay away, freak!" Lex refuses to listen to him. He is still backing away, cold tears starting to drip from his eyelashes, rolling down his cheeks. "I hate you! I really, truly _hate you!_"

Maxi sobs loudly. Everything is going wrong, terribly wrong. "Lex, please don't say things like that… I don't hate you. My feelings are the complete opposite"

"I said I hate you! Got the message? I. Hate. Yo- Ahh!" Lex falls backwards over a raised root of the tree, and he lands in the white powder, a sharp shock of pain running up his spine He howls in pain, but opens his eyes as soon as something quite heavy sits itself across his stomach, trapping him under their weight. He stares up, skyward, and sees Maxi above him, straggling his hips to keep him pined down, his small hands resting against the human's chest. He stares down at Lex with such a upsetting, heartbroken expression… and he's crying.

Crying blood.

Crimson, shining tears, standing out against his pale skin, running together like river tributaries, like a red spider's web in need of repair. It's the most haunting, most creepy and most prettiest sight Lex has ever seen. He hiccups a sob, his shoulders still shuddering but he is far more calmer. Still scared but calmer.

"…Please go away, Maxi" he pleads, his voice crocking from his screaming.

"No" Maxi whispers. "I don't want to… because I like you." He lays down across Lex's body, chest-to-chest, and manages to snake his arms around his friend's neck in an embrace. Lex closes his eyes again, placing his arms around Maxi's waist.

This vampire, this monster is real and he saved his life.

He's his friend.

"…I don't hate you, Maxi."

"…Thank you." The little boy sits up again, wiping the red tears away with the back of his sleeve. He smiles. "It's late… Let's go home."

**OOO**

When the boys finally get back to the apartment complex, it's the wee hours of the morning, well past midnight. Lex feels half-dead, his limbs numb and his eyes heavy, but Maxi keeps tugging at his arm to keep him moving. Not even a small nap on the underground trams helped him out.

As they walk into the playground, Lex looks up, sees the widow of his living room aglow with light, and frowns deeply.

"My dad is going to kill me."

"He won't." Maxi takes hold of Lex's hands and blinks up at him, eyes large and glowing. "If he loves you, he won't be angry forever… Lex, please don't tell your daddy about what happened tonight."

"Like he would believe me anyway" Lex huffs, looking away to shrug.

Maxi frowns even more. "You don't want to be my friend anymore, do you?"

Lex looks down at the vampire's face, and that pleading, innocent expression makes his stomach sink. "…I can't really hate you after you saved my life… Thanks…"

Maxi smiles. "There's no need for that. I'm just glad that Alexa didn't bite you."

"…Are you going to tell me who they were?" Lex asks.

"Maybe. One day. Not tonight though." Maxi keeps an air of mystery around him, sounding so very mature, a mismatch to his sweet, underage face. "Just go inside and sleep. Don't try to worry about anything. It's going to be alright… Goodnight, Lex."

"Goodnight." Without thinking, Lex gives the bloodsucking (cutest ever) monster a big hug before watching him walk towards the second building. Maxi pauses when he realises that Lex isn't going inside.

"…What are you waiting for?"

"For you to get inside. I'm just making sure that you get in alright."

"…Alright" Maxi mumbles, "but just so you know, I didn't get out through the door tonight."

"So how did you get out?" Lex asks.

"Up there." Maxi points out to the slightly open bathroom window. "And I don't have a door key on my person."

"Then you are going to jump up?" Lex asks, partly disbelieving the facts, trying to remember that he was talking to a dead boy.

Maxi smiles, shrugs, then faces the building and runs towards it at full, frightening speed. Lex flinches and looks away, eye covered, thinking at any moment, Maxi was going to crash against the building and break his nose… but he hears scraping, and sneakers, and fingernails against brick and window ledges, and when he opens, Lex can't see a little boy smashed against the bricks, or on the ground at all.

He looks up, and finds Maxi high above, sat on the ledge of his bathroom window. At any moment, he could fall off but he doesn't, managing to pushing the window up a little more and slipping inside, out of sight altogether. Lex stares blankly at the window, waiting to see if the bathroom light will turn on, or if Maxi will reappear, but he doesn't, so Lex gives up and goes inside.

In the lift, he thinks about what he is going to say to his dad. The truth? No. He won't believe that… and he told Maxi, in a way, that he won't do that anyway. As far as his father knows, vampires are a work of fiction that live on the pages of books, and in the darker parts of human imagination. As far as his dad knows, Zexion and Maximus Read are humans. Weird, anti-social, and a little freaky, but humans nonetheless.

Lex gets off on his floor and walks down the corridor to his flat. He just stares at the door, fearing the worse. As soon as he steps through the door, his dad is going to kill him. That's the source of the dreading feeling he has in the pit of his stomach.

Swallowing his fear and some bail collecting in his throat, the boy reaches out and turns the door handle down, pushing it open. The set of keys left in the keyhole on the other side of the lock jiggle louder then anything, and someone in the living room shifts sharply in their armchair.

"Lex! Is that you?"

The boy doesn't answer, just closing the door softly behind him and turning the key, so the lock clunks shut. His father shouts again, sounding very angry. "Lex Aeleus Stone, you better answer me!" Nothing, and Lexaeus sighs, annoyed, getting up out of his armchair. "Gods alive, where the hell have you been? No note. No one knows where you are. I go trekking up and down the streets searching. You don't answer your frigging phone, and now you come walking in at two o'clock in the morning! You better have some pretty good rea-"

But as Lexaeus turns into the hallway, he pauses, no visible anger in his face as he stares as the shivering, miserable, battered boy before him, with his eyes watering and his bottom lip quivering. "…What happen to you?" Lex bursts into tears, crying loud and painfully, covering his face with his hands, ashamed and tired. Lexaeus makes shushing noises, shaking his head. "Shh, Lex. Lex. Sweetheart, I'm not angry at you. I just- I got worry and..." He kneels down on the floor on one knee, and opens his arms wide, welcoming. "Come here, darling."

Lex runs into his father's arms and locks his own around the his neck, like he is never going to let go again. Lexaeus runs his hands over the child's face gently, a frown on his mouth. "Gods, you're shivering. What happened to your face?"

"Dad… I was mugged. Sort of," Lex lies. "I went to the shop to get something for tea, and these two teenagers grabbed me, and tried to take my munny off me, but they didn't take anything. I still have my phone and anything. I didn't let them take them."

"Lex, I don't care about those things. I care about you." Lexaeus shakes his head, shuddering with bitterness, feeling that he's failed as a father. "What did they do to you?"

"They gave up after a while, and beat me up one last time, and left me in the alleyway. I wanted to phone you but my battery went flat, and was too scared to move so I stayed there until I felt safe to run home again."

"Did you see who they were?"

"…No …They were wearing balaclavas… I'm sorry, Dad."

"It's fine. It's fine." Lexaeus gives his son a kiss on his forehead. "You're safe now, and that's all that matters… You poor thing." He picks the kid up and carries him off to the bathroom. "Let's get you washed and looked over, then I'll make you some breakfast-in-bed."

Lex nods his head and buried his face in the crook of the man's neck. That was the most biggest lie he has ever told his father in his life.

**OOO**

It's now five o'clock on Tuesday morning, and Zexion has only just got home. He locks all the bolts on the front door behind him, then sighs shallowly. He feels unclean, dirty. He always does after whoring himself out, to put it bluntly. He hates doing it, but that is all he seems to be good for. To be a living, breathing sex-doll. As long as he was pretty and had a hole for the clients to fit in, he would get cash and that's all that counted.

He walks into the bedroom and finds Maxi wrapped up in the bed, curled up under the covers, looking perfectly innocent and peaceful. Zexion smiles at him but he doesn't pet the child's head, or kisses his cheek like a good father. He can't, not while he is still filthy and disgusting. He couldn't get his son dirty too. So he goes to the bathroom to clean.

Every time Maxi sees him after so-called working, Maxi says that Papa smells of one thing: Rape.

And, bless him, he's right and they both know it.

After filling the bathtub with lots of cold, pure water, Zexion strips off (for the third time tonight) and gets in. He sits there, scooping the water up in the cupped palms of his hands, and pours it over his shoulders and down his back, onto his face. He feels a little better; still dirty but he feels a bit cleaner.

He looks down at his body - slender, white and scarred. The perfect fuck-doll.

Closing his eyes, Zexion sighs out and doesn't breath back in again. He stops himself from breathing all together. His eyes still blink, his fingers twitch and move, and his toes can curl and flex, all without oxygen.

Slowly, he lays back into the water, submerging his entire body into the cold liquid. He stares up at the ceiling through the water, and it looks wavy and shimmers, like a dream, his hair swaying slowly like sea plants on a reef. Feeling ever so tired and happily numb, Zexion turns onto his side, cheek pressed against the bottom of the tub, and pulls his legs up to his chest, placing one of his arms under his head for comfort. He closes his eyes once more, falling into slumber.

Looking like a drowned corpse, or maybe a unborn foetus in a pouch of fluid, Zexion sleeps soundlessly. He won't wake up for another hour or two.

_

* * *

__A/N: The victims' name come from vampire fiction: 'Mina McMurray' is a not-so-hidden reference to Wilhelmina Harker (née Murray) from "Dracula", and 'Victoire Seras' is a play on the name Seras Victoria, who is a main character from the manga series "Hellsing". They renamed nameless before because I didn't have this idea beforehand._

_And the song I had in mind when Demyx changes the radio station is "You're Going Down" by Sick Puppies. Sorry for the massive delay in updating!_


	5. Thoughts I Must Not Think Of

**Chapter Music: **_When Anger Shows_ by Editors

* * *

**Rust on the Lock.**

**Chapter 5.**

**Thoughts I Must Not Think Of.**

Lex missed school yesterday, and he is going to miss it again today. Patched up and aching, the poor lad has been lying in bed all day in his pjs, feeling downright miserable for himself. He can't shake off what happened to him two nights ago... and Maxi. That tiny, smiley kid, with a cherub face and a soft personality to match the pleasant texture of his hair... He's a monster; a blood-sucking, sharp-fanged, murdering monster... who just so happened to have saved his life.

Last night, Lex woke up screaming, his own hand clutched around his neck. He told Lexaeus that he just had a weird, creepy dream and he was on edge, but he know that the dream was about vampires after his flesh and blood.

Paranoia?

Maybe fear?

"Lex?" Lexaeus opens the bedroom door and steps inside. He frowns when Lex just stays still and doesn't look around to look at him. The boy just stays staring at the wall, quite and unmovable. The man walks to his side. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

"…I'm fine."

"Do you want some breakfast?" Playing father, Lexaeus places his hand on the boy's crown, running his fingers carefully through his soft curls. "I can make you toast, or scrambled eggs… or whatever you like."

Lex shakes his head, still staring into space. "I'm not hungry, thank you." Lexaeus' warm hand stills in his hair, tangled in his tresses. The boy sighs, closing his eyes. "This is not your fault, Dad."

"…I'm just worried about you" Lexaeus mumbles, whispers, hand starting to move again, slower. "You were so shook up and upset… I haven't see you cry like that since your mother died, and you were so young back then… cute too." The man smiles a little. "You're still a cute kid, Lex." The boy doesn't move. He just sits there, pretending that he isn't blushing as his dad continued. "I know you are no longer a little child, but I still get worried over you, and you really worried me when you walked in all teary and bruised… Am I being lame?"

Lex collapses into a smile, shaking his head. "Yes. You are lame. Very lame. You're the most lamest dad ever." He shifts his weight and looks up at Lexaeus. "Never stop being lame please."

Lexaeus laughs. "You cheeky monkey." He gives the boy a tickle under the armpit, making him worm and laugh uncontrollably. "Are you sure there isn't anything you want?"

"I-I'm sure." Lex calms down, a smirk still across his mouth. He stops and thinks for a moment, and grabs the sleeve of his dad's shirt before he could stand up. "Actually. Dad. Could you read me a story?"

Lexaeus blinks. "Read you a story?"

"Yeah. Like when I was little." There is awkwardness between them. Lex stopped asking for stories when he was eight, and Lexaeus had missed those times dreadfully. He missed Lex begging for one more chapter, and watching him fall asleep in his arms. Listening him mumble nonsense, have a small hand curl into his shirt…

"Sure. I'll read to you. What book do you want?"

"I don't care. Any. As long as you read."

"Um." Lexaeus looks around, sucking air through his teeth as he searched. After a moment, he picks up a novel from the nightstand, a bookmark's ribbon hanging from the pages. "What about this one?"

Lex looked at the cover and shuddered: _Interview with the Vampire_. He had forgotten he was reading that a number of nights ago. He didn't pay anything in his room any attention since he came back beaten.

He curled his legs up against his chest. "Okay. If you want."

Lexaeus smiled, and sat down gingerly next to the boy on the bed, and turned to the marked pages, pulling his spectacles from his breast pocket. Lex rested his head against his dad's chest, and looks at the page, but the words just blurred together without his glasses into a grey, hazy cloud, and he just listened while the elder spoke.

"'The vampire stopped. The boy said nothing. 'A child vampire!' he whispered finally…'"

Lex's stomach twisted. The book means Claudia, a fictional girl with perfect curls and fine frocks and a womanly air, but he can only picture Maxi, a real boy, with his raggedy jeans and cow-licked hair and his black eye and childish way of speaking.

Both kill to live, live to kill.

"'He'd done this to the little girl just to keep you with him?' asked the boy. 'That is difficult to say. It was a statement. I'm convinced Lestat was a person who preferred not to think or talk about his motives and beliefs, even to himself. One of those people who must act. Such a person must be pushed considerably before he will open up and confess that there is method and thought to the way he lives…"

Lex closes his eyes, and decides, yes, Maxi is like Claudia, but he can't make up his mind about one thing: is Mr. Read a Louis or a Lestat?

**OOO**

"_-The police have reported that no significant progress has been made in the cases, and they are still requesting members of the public with any information to come forward-"_

Sighing, Zexion finishes wiping off the cups, and his knife off with his yellow sponge, and places them on the draining board. He bought the radio to keep up with the news, but it gets very depressing if you are always in the headlines for bad reasons. He sits down at the table, swiping his hands dry on his trouser legs.

"Please shut up about it. Please. I'm sorry already."

"_In other news, it's been reported that the Shin-Ra main headquarters was broken into two nights ago by an unidentified party. It's believed people managed to get through a small opening in the fence surrounding the building, and got onto the roof. Nothing was stolen, although the fire escape door on roof level was seriously broken. Now the weather-"_

Zexion turns the knob to the "off" position. He feels sick. Hungry. He places a hand over his stomach and presses inwards, feeling his engorged, swollen gut sticking out. He didn't like it when he got a small potbelly. It wasn't fat. It was his stomach reacting to malnourishment, but he thinks that he wouldn't get costumers if he looked fat in anyway.

Beauty was slim. Skin and bone, with a perked bum, and tummies are cute. Not sexy.

He decides a bath might make him feel better. To be submerged under the water, and pretend to be blind, deaf and dumb for a while would make him feel better, and he hadn't had a wash in a while. He was starting to smell a bit like a butcher's apron.

He walked into the bathroom, and kept the lights off. The sun wasn't up yet, and he still had two hours until it did. He turned the cold tap all the way around, and he jump when he felt the breeze caress his cheek.

The window is open.

Zexion arches a brow. He doesn't remember having that window open. He walks over and pushed the window down harshly. It sticks to the sides, so it must have been open for a while and the damp made it rusty.

Then he sees the sink.

The basin is full of clouded, still water, with a shadow sitting in the bottom, blocking the drain. Curious, Zexion reaches in and pulls cloth from the deep. The drain burps and gurgles up all the water greedily, and Zexion is left with a small shirt, drenched through. He twisted it over the sink, and it seems like a gallon of water spills out.

Then he sees the dirt.

The smears of mud and dry spots of blood, here, there and everywhere. Zexion panics, becomes enraged, betrayed.

"That little _moron_!"

He runs from the bathroom and into the bedroom, and goes straight to the bed. "_Maximus Ienzo Zexion Read!_" Before his son can even come around from his sleep, he rips the covers from the bed and throws them to the ground. Maxi curls up even tighter in his little hedgehog ball position, whining and blinking away the haze from his sight.

"Pa?" He looks over to the bedside clock, ticking away the seconds. "It's ten in the morning."

"What did you do!"

"Huh?"

Zexion tosses the shirt in the boy's direction, obviously enraged. "This is _yours_, I believe. I found it in the bathroom sink."

It takes a moment for Maxi to think it through, but when he picks up the cloth and sees the red splatter, his eyes widen, large as dinner plates. "…Oh gods."

"What did you do?"

"Papa, I'm sorry-"

"_What did you do!_"

Maxi flinches. He doesn't like it when Zexion gets mad. He looks scary, and his eyes turn dark as black and his hands curl into shuddering fists ready to crunch. "…I didn't kill a human."

"What did you kill then?"

"A fox." That wasn't a total lie: Alexa's surname is Fox, after all. Zexion rips the shirt from the child's hands, and he waves it about in front of his face as he rants and hisses.

"I thought I told you to stay inside!" he bellows. "Someone could have seen you! It's too risky to have you running around the place causing havoc. Why do you do this all the time-"

"I do not!" Maxi snaps back. He is getting cranky, being woke up and shouted at the morning hours. "It's not like I get into trouble on purpose."

"But you do so anyway. You always, _always _get into trouble!" Zexion starts to move his feet in a odd fashion, acting like he is going to start pacing, then doesn't and draws his foot back two steps, looking around at the ground. "Odin, give me strength. How often do you go outside?"

"…Honestly?" Maxi asks. "Every night."

The man nearly has a heart attack. "Every night! You jump through that window every night? Why? Someone could see you!"

"I feel claustrophobic in here. I needed to breath. I wanted to go out and play in the snow, and actually _feel _like a kid again. You can't keep me locked up like a animal!"

"You think I like keeping you in here?" Zexion looks furious now. "I'm not the enemy here, Maximus."

"Could have fooled me!"

A open hand slaps Maxi on his left cheek, sharp like a snow ball. He falls back onto the mattress and stares wide-eyed up at his father. He hardly ever gets a slap. He can't even remembered the last time Zexion slapped him, it was that long ago since.

Zexion looks like he is going to fall to pieces, shuddering and turning to a sickly pale grey. It's as if he can't believe what he just did.

"This is all for you, you know?" he whimpers, as he can only just manage to force himself to speak, but as he talks, he gets louder and louder again. "All this moving and hiding and all the other shit I have to put up with. Do you think I _like_ killing young girls? Do you like I _like_ dirty old men touching me? Because I don't, but I'm letting this happen to me anyway so _you _can eat and have a place to sleep! All of this crap that is happening to me for _your_ benefit! Not mine!"

"…Your eyes are bleeding."

Zexion blinks, then brings his hand up to his face, resting the thumb and index fingers lightly over his eyes. He didn't even realise that his vision had turned red. He wipes his tears away and takes a shaking breath in, fixing up his hair.

"…I going to have a bath," he mumbles, voice a mere rasp from shouting. "I didn't mean to…" He stops mid-sentence, and sighs, deciding that it was best to leave the room and calm down. He went into the bathroom, finished running the bath, took off his pyjamas, and got in. He used his hands like a cup and splashed his face clean. The diluted blood trickled down face, but it still feels like it was still there. It makes him feel unclean and he starts to rub his eyes, at his eyelashes where the blood normally clots. He rubs harder and harder until it hurt, and he still rubbed hard. He didn't want to stop until he felt clean again, pure again-

"Papa."

A pair of tiny hands grab his wrists and yanks them down. Zexion's renters have turned just as red as his tears, and there are spots dancing in his vision. Maxi shakes his head. "You shouldn't do that, Pa… Are you okay?"

The man nods his head. "Yes, I'm fine." He drops his hands into the water and clears them of the muck. "I just got a bit carried away." He looks up at the kid and smiles weakly. "Your hair is greasy. Hop in and I'll clean it."

Maxi doesn't hesitate. He pulls off his clothes and climbs into the tub, back to Zexion and head tilted back. His father grabs the large cup from the side and scoops up some water, pouring it over Maxi's locks. His hair turns two shades darker from the water.

"…You can go out and play."

Maxi whips around in surprise, splattering water everywhere from the tips of his hair. "What?"

"You're right," Zexion says, calm and quiet. "I can't keep you cooped up in here all the time. So, when I'm out, you can go play in the playground out front."

"Really!" Maxi is thrilled, clapping his hands together with a wet slap. "You are going to let me out?"

"As long as you behave yourself" Zexion quickly adds. "And don't talk to anyone. And you _must_ stop going through the window."

"I will. Pinky swear." The lad holds out his hand, his little finger wiggling. Zexion wraps his own finger around it, and they shake on it.

Keep it or your finger gets chop off.

**OOO**

Lex has been looking for handgun bullets for ages, pressing the select button again and again next to everything. This game is so mean at times. Poor Heather only gets a handful of health drinks and ammo at any time, and now she is in the Otherworld again, she really needs them. Melee weapons are no good against larger monsters.

There is a knock at his bedroom door.

"Come in."

Lexaeus takes a step inside, and switches on the ceiling light, making Lex jump and blink. "Dexter's here, Lex. Do you want me to send him in?"

"Just a sec." Artfully, Lex helps Heather dodge a Closer, escape into a safe room, finds a Halo of the Sun seal on a mirror, and saves his game. "Okay."

Dexter comes bounding in, his hands full of photocopy paper and his mouth bended into the friendly Rivers grin. He is still in his school uniform, the tie gone from around his neck and his shirt un-tucked, as per usual. "_Dude_, you missed making Christmas decorations in art today, and Lulu let us watch _Home Alone _in tutorial. Oh, I got all of the worksheets you missed." He lets the stack of work fall and flop onto the bedside table. "How you feeling?"

"Not bad" Lex shrugs.

"Are you staying for tea, Dexter?" Lexaeus asks.

"Yes, please!"

"Right. I'll call you two when it's ready."

The man leaves the boys alone. Lex picks up a few of the sheets and thumbs through them lazily. Double chemistry and maths, with extra space for workings-out. Best Christmas present ever. Dexter looks around the bed, finding boxes upon boxes of video games across the mattresses.

"Have you just been sat in here playing games all day?"

"Nothing else to do but play through my backlog of games," Lex says quietly. "I can't do much else."

"What about reading?"

"I kept reading the same lines over and over again. Games kept my mind working without torturing it."

"Hmm." Dexter kicks his shoes off and pulls his legs off onto the bed, tucking his feet under himself. He looks over to Lex, frowning. "Actually, we, like me and the other guys, want to know when you are coming back to school."

Lex frowns too, but he only shrugs in response. "I don't know. I still feel like crap. I can only just manage to drag myself out of the bed to have a pee."

"…What happened to you?"

"I talked about it to Xen on the phone. Didn't she tell you?"

"Yeah but, mate, you look terrible. Seriously, two thugs did this to you?"

Lex sighs, and pulls his duvet tighter around his body, a sudden chill crawling along his spine. "…Dex. Do you believe that people who act evil can actually be good?"

The other boy blinks. "Huh?"

Lex scratches his hair. "I mean, if something is seen as bad or terrible, does it still count if the person who does it has no choice but to do it?"

Dexter still looks confused beyond reason. "…Like?"

"Like, um… you know the story of Cecil Harvey, right?"

"Everyone knows _that _story, Lex. That legend has been around for centuries."

"Well, Cecil Harvey destroyed the village of Mist, but he didn't mean to. The act was bad, but he was just following the king's orders."

"Yeah, but…" Dexter furrows his brow, thinking hard. "Cecil didn't know that the package was a bomb… right? If he did know, that would be seen as a good person doing a bad thing. But he didn't , so it the badness was force upon him… What the hell were you asking again?"

Lex sighs and makes himself smile. Just slightly, but noticeably. "Doesn't matter. Isolation is making me nuts. Let's not talk about it anymore." He picks up a game box. "Want to play _Castlevania_?"

**OOO**

When he dropped Dexter home, Lexaeus spent a good fifteen minutes talking to Mrs. Rivers. It felt more like soothing her, telling her that she shouldn't really worry about all this murdering and kidnapping business, especially since the targets seem to be women, and all her children are male.

She was _not _worried, she said, but she felt unsure about it all, a little more uneasy walking outside at night then before. Lexaeus soon left after Zell lead his mother upstairs, telling Hayner and Dexter to bugger off to bed, and Demyx saw Lexaeus to the door, wishing him a goodnight.

"Sorry about mum… Never been quite the same since dad left."

Ran away from a slight problem in their marriage seems more like it, but Lexaeus kept his mouth shut, smiling.

When he lined up the car back in its place in the complex car park, Lexaeus stayed in the driver's seat, motor running to keep the heater going. The radio was off, and his breath was thick and white in the chilled air.

Tomorrow, he will go to the police station, and ask Squall to find the kids who attacked Lex. It would be hard, since they couldn't be identified, but Squall was a good kid and would try to help. Of course he would.

Lexaeus only knows good children.

Naughty children. Moody children. Yet always good and never bad.

He turned off the engine, the heater and lights dead in a flash, and he steps out of the car. He locks up and looks around. Everything is illuminated by the streetlamp around the paths. The cars, the playground, the Zexion on the opposite path-

"Zexion?" Lexaeus takes a second look, and it is indeed the boy on the path, a bag on his back, walking shiftily away from his building, towards the road leading to town. "Zexion, wait." The elder half-sprints across the ground after him. The boy seems to quicken his pace. "Zexion, wait a moment-"

"What!" Zexion turns around sharply, barking. Lexaeus nearly falls backwards. The kid looks tired and irritable, shadows cupping underneath his eyes, skin greyish in his light. (Still pretty, however, in a way.)

Lexaeus has a feeling he wasn't forgotten about the questioning thing yet.

"…I just wanted to ask if you are alright?"

Zexion doesn't look impressed. "…I'm fine. Peachy. Tip-top-happy. Bye." And he turns away again, walks away.

Lexaeus calls after him. "Aren't you going to ask about me in return?"

"Nope. Bye."

"Zexion, look. I'm sorry about accusing you. Alright?"

"Alright? _Alright?_" The boy finally stops, and turns around again. "Not only did you accuse me of breaking the law, you accused me of being an unfit parent and a uncaring bastard toward my own child. And you're telling me it's alright now you said sorry. Words mean nothing."

Lexaeus sighs and rubs the back of his neck. "No. You're right. Just saying sorry is not going to cut it. I wouldn't have intervened without evidence."

"Hell right."

"Zexion, this isn't really the time of year to be hostile."

"Fine then. Merry Christmas. Now fuck off."

"_Zexion_." Lexaeus sighs and runs his hand through his brunet curls, thinking quickly. "…Do you still want that drink? We can talk about this."

The young man suddenly stops and Lexaeus stops to, almost falling over his feet in surprise. Zexion doesn't say anything for a long time, or maybe it just felt like a long time, until he turned his head a touch. Just his head, and he still doesn't look up at Lexaeus. Just at a unimportant spot on the ground, in the snow.

"You still offer me a drink, even when I'm being like this?"

Lexaeus smiles a touch. The boy is finally softening. "I don't want to be enemies with you. Our sons, I've seen them playing together and I don't want this to ruin the little friendship they have going on."

Zexion whips around, eyes big and round like dinner plates, before it changed, melted into an expression of understand. As if he had understood something. Lexaeus hope he was understanding that this fighting was wrong. The boy turns around, and embraces himself. "…I guess I can come over tomorrow… I'm not much of a drinker."

"We are well stocked" the old man insists. "We don't have to have alcohol. I can brew up tea, or coffee, anything to fancy. I'll fix some food up as well. Don't worry about it."

Zexion fidgeted around a little, fitting up his coat a little, then accidentally messing it up again from fussing with it too much. He looks at the ground as he speaks.

"I'll come around at seven, if I may. I will be busy until then, so I guess I would have to."

"Um. Sure. Come over when ever." Lexaeus is sure Zexion smiles a touch for a second, only a second, before turning on his heel and walking quickly and steadily, around the corner onto the street and out of sight as slick as a cat. "…Zexion, wait a second."

When Lexaeus looks around the corner, the boy is gone. He is not even a small shadowy figure down the road in the fog under the street lights.

Lexaeus stands there for a moment, looking around, up and down for a sign of Zexion somewhere in the cloudy air, but he sees nothing, and the cold gets the better of him.

He goes inside before his gunshot knee acts up again.

**OOO**

There was no "official" red-light district in Midgar, but there was an area people knew to be the right place to find that sort of thing (if that is, of course, what you are looking for.)

It was common knowledge to local perverts that in the more run-down the part of town is, the more likely they would find more working-girls, pretty and cheap. For those with a more particular taste for younger company, however, it had to be arranged beforehand. Underage prostitutions are more risky, and more taboo, so the word of where to get them doesn't spread as far; but if you know where to look, it is quite easy.

Under the dimly-lit streetlight stands a man, possibly in his late thirties, blond hair cut short, beard neatly trimmed and shaped. He is dress in casual smarts, like a business man, many pierces in his ears. In his right hand, he slowly palms a old gold coin, created before modern munny mint was issued. He is getting impatient. The man that was meant to be meeting up with him is late, and it was the bloke that insisted of such a late time.

Then, from down the road, a batten-up car comes rolling down, a headlight cracked.

Smiling, the blond man puts his coin into his trouser pocket, and watches as the banger pulls up a few yards away from him.

Show time.

The man that steps out of the car is a little overweight, balding, with a layer of cold sweat on the brow. First time nerves maybe? Fears of getting caught? There are a few possibilities to his shifty eyes, the dampness on his hand as they shake hands, but doesn't matter now.

"Sorry I'm late, Mr. Gamble."

"It's fine."

"My boss kept me behind and-"

"My friend! The night is still young." Mr. Gamble waves his hand to dismiss the apologue, grinning. "We have nothing to fear here. Now, would you like to meet my wears?"

"Um. Yes. Please. Soon."

"Now." The blond turns a few degrees, pointing down the street behind him. Sat on a bench with peeling paint, there are two young girls no older then twelve. There is a blonde, hair wild and full of static, wrapped up in jeans, brown leather boots, and a woollen poncho. The other has pink curls, dressed in a summer dress, purple tights, Mary-Jane's, and a white puffy winter coat. They were just talking, like they were in a park during a lunch break from school. "What takes your fancy?"

The fat man looks, licking his dry lips, than his eyes flicker towards Mr. Gamble, only briefly.

"I heard you had three girls" the pervert says, cocking a brow. "I heard of a redhead."

"Ah, my little red! She's… not well tonight, I'm afraid to say," Mr. Gamble sighs. "Poor lamb is frightfully ill, so I allowed her to stay at home. Nonetheless, my friend, these other lasses are just as well-kempt and pretty, yes? You may still take your pick from these two."

The customer casts an eye over the girls on the bench. He must admit, as far as under-aged girls go, they are quite pretty. After a moment's hesitation and fantasy, the pervert makes up his mind.

"The pink-haired girl."

"Are you sure?"

A cold hand presses crumpled munny into Mr. Gamble's palm, answering his question. Gamble chuckles softly, pockets the cash, and walks on over the girls. He talks quietly to them, takes the pink-haired gal's hand, and leads her back down the street. The blonde is left to play with the fraying fringe of her poncho.

"Now, you will be a good girl, won't you?" Mr. Gamble smiles, squeezing her hand as he turns back to the costumer. "She is a very well behaved little thing, but you must promise to look after her. You have two hours with her. No longer."

"I promise to look after her."

"You must. She is one of my angels."

"I understand."

Nothing else is said. Mr. Gamble hands the girl on over to the bald man, who leads her over to the car. He gets into the driver's seat, and she in the passenger side. After a few false starts, the car finally grumbles into life, and roll on down the road.

There is a heavy silence. The man glances ever now and again towards the girl. She is just staring out of the window, expression blank.

The girl is lovely, with naturally curly, layered hair in a light shade of lavender pink, with matching freckles splashed along her pale cheeks, under a pair of dark, sapphire irises. He guessed he had a thing for feminine girls. He wasn't sure.

The girl shifts around a little, and he watches her slip her coat off her shoulders, revealing the swell of young breasts under her dress. Not overly big, but obvious, above average. The man swallows and turns his attention back to the road.

"Are you too warm?"

"I'm fine" the girl shrugs. "I prefer the cold."

"Umm." The man looks around, uneasy, trying to find something to talk about. "I mean, it can't be that good for you, wearing a dress like that in the snow. You'll catch a cold or something."

"I'll be fine." The girl lolls her head slightly to the side, looking up at him with those dark eyes, never giving away what she's thinking. "Have you done this before?"

The man can feel his hands getting clammy with sweat again, his shirt sticking to his hairy back. "Once. Sort of. It was a group thing really. A couple of girls came in and sucked us off, made out with each other. They looked a little slutty for my liking…" He preferred the innocent-looking. Once that still looked untouched, never deflowered, and the way the girl sat there, all primed and proper, coat folded on her lap neatly, she was an icon of virginity. "Anyway, let's not talk about that… what's your name anyway?"

The girl still isn't smiling. "Xanthe Bracken."

"Xanthe?" The perv smiles a little. "That's a pretty name. Latin, is it?"

"Greek."

"More or less the same thing, isn't it? …Have you done this before?"

"Yes. Of course," Xanthe answers.

"Oh. Yeah. Stupid question… Do you like it?"

"It puts food in the mouth." Such a mature way of speaking, and that only adds to her charm. They had entered the woods some time ago, going down a dirt track. "Does your family know where you are?" she asks. "Your wife?"

"I'm divorced. Thank the Gods."

"Your children?"

"I have a son… Much older then you, and moved out already… But I would have loved a little girl though. I would spoil her rotten…"

The silence returns. Xanthe plays with her skirt line between her fingers in a inpatient manner. "Am I expected to do anything special?"

"No, no. You just…" The man pause for a moment, and turns the car into a clearing, down on a lake bank. He kills off the engine. "You just do what you feel comfortable with, pet."

"Okay." Without a second of thought, Xanthe reaches out, and slowly pulled the man's hand towards her, making it cup around her kneecap. He licks his lips, and his hand travels, creeps up her thigh, like a fat, fuzzy spider, looking for a warm place to hide in.

As his hand disappears under her skirt, to try and find the elastic of her tights, his skin meets something cold. Something cold and hard, with the texture of leather, topped with metal.

He throws the light-coloured material out of the way. In a black sheath secured around her leg lays an antique dagger, silver and shining like new. A shiver passes down the pervert's spine, a feeling of ill and panic. Xanthe giggles and he looks.

She has finally cracked a smile. It is the most frightening scene that man has ever seen (and the last).

**OOO**

His books have become a chore to read, his games repetitive, so Lex just lays there on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. It is a whitish colour that goes with his dark blue papered walls, which had rips and tires from over the years.

The boy was tired, but he was restless too, suffering in bedtime limbo. Thoughts were buzzing around his head, and everyone of them left him uneasy.

Maxi left him uneasy.

Lex sits up with a groan, covering his face with both hands. Why must his thoughts always return to Maxi, good or bad? The boy had become a pox on his mind, a scar left behind. The boy didn't know what to do anymore.

Sighing, he takes the box of sleeping pills from his bedside table. His dad have given them to him, to help him sleep at night. He was told to only take one each night. Two would knock him out.

With fumbling hands, Lex pops a pill out of the plastic tray, and swallows it down with a gulp from his glass of water. It would take a while for it to kick in, but at least Lex would be in deep slumber, free from dreaming, from thoughts.

With nothing else to do, Lex strips out of his five-day-worn pyjamas, and changes into a clean pair of sleeping trousers, minus the shirt. He feels warm, boiling in fact. He switches off the light, and crawls under his covers, keeping one foot sticking out in the open air.

And all is quiet for a while, and Lex even starts to drift off, eye getting heavy and fluttering close…

_Tap-tap_

Eyes open.

_Tap-tap-tap_

A shiver crawls down Lex's spine. He knows he shouldn't… but he sits up anyway, and almost screams, but whimpers instead, at the figure in his window.

Maxi is at his window, hands and nose pressed against the pane of glass, smiling at him, as if he had been waiting for him all day for his return.

How the hell did he- they are six floors off the ground, with no fire ladders and nearby drainpipes outside that window.

Did... Maxi… _jump up_?

Well, if he did it two nights ago, he can do it again.

The little boy in the window says something, mouthing the words carefully so Lex can read them, knowing that he can't hear him through the glass.

"_Can I come in?"_

Lex pulls the covers against his chest, a cold sweat forming on his forehead. It's too late to pretend that he didn't notice him. They are staring eye-to-eye through the frosty glass, and Maxi is smiling at him. Not a creepy, hungry smile. A friendly, sweet smile. The boy in the bed bites down on his lip, thinking. He read, in a few of his books, that vamps can't enter the homes of humans without being invited. He sighs.

"…You can come in."

Something shifts, and Maxi opens the window. Lex can't remember if he left it open or not. Maybe he did, on the off-chance that Maxi may appear, without realising it himself?

Crazy.

The vampire is barefooted again, and he brings in a cold chill with him. He closes the window behind him, politely, carefully, and soundlessly, before walking over to the bed, giving Lex a smile.

"I was worried about you," he says. "Are you okay?"

"I've been better," Lex answers honestly. "Still feeling off… You look like you've been having fun." Maxi's hair is messier than ever before, sticking to his brow in strips, eyes wide like that of a junkie. His clothing is ruffled and wrinkled. A drop of water clings to his nose. He looks a right state, and Lex can't help smiling a little. "Come here." Maxi obeys, clambering onto the bed. Lex places a hand on the vampire's head. "You're damp." He slides his hand down Maxi's cheek, and down onto his chest. His woollen jumper is no better, covered in tiny wet droplets and flakes of snow. "What the heck have you been doing?"

"Playing in the snow," Maxi grins. "Papa said I can, and as long as I don't annoy people and don't talk to anyone."

"Where _is_ your dad?" Lex asks. He rubs the palms of his hands up and down the child's arms, to try and warm him up a touch. "You wouldn't come up here if he was home." That was a statement of fact, not a question. Maxi frowns slightly, and glances off to the side.

"…He went to get food."

Lex's hands pause halfway up. "Please tell me he isn't going to kill someone again."

"No." Maxi looks back. "it's too risky at the moment. He's going to get animal blood."

Lex breaths a sigh of relieve, but he doesn't know why. "I don't see why you can't get animal blood all the time."

"It just doesn't work like that." The vampire brushes some melt water off his nose. "Animal doesn't have the same effect on us as human. We don't get enough of what we need from the blood of animals."

"Oh. I see."

Really, Lex doesn't see. Doesn't eating more animals solve the problem? He doesn't question it. He just starts with rubbing down Maxi's arms again. "You're so cold."

"I know… Do you think I can stay here tonight? I don't like being on my own."

Lex's eyes widen. "What about my dad?"

"I'll keep quiet," the little one promises, "and I have to leave before sunrise anyway, and I'll let you sleep. Please, Lex."

"…I don't know," Lex mumbles. "I mean, you're all wet. You're not staying in my bed in wet clothes."

"Oh?" Maxi tugs at the heavy material of his jumper. It smells of wet dog and the brisk ait. "I guess you have a point. Alright then" Then he starts to undress.

Realising Maxi is pulling his clothes off, Lex turns crimson red and closes his eyes, unsure where to look. "Maxi, put your clothes back on!"

"Why?"

"I can't share a bed with you when you are naked!"

There is a noise, a flump of heavy fabric hitting the carpeted floor. "I'm not naked. I'm in my underwear. And we are both boys, so what is the problem?"

He has a point.

Swallowing his nerves, Lex takes his hands away from his face, and tries to look at Maxi in the face, eye to eye… but he finds himself unable to do so. His eyes drift down, towards the lad's bare chest, and finds mares and marks there, all over. All of them are old and healed over, ranging from light and barely there like the playful scratches of kitty-cats, to deep and large like someone has played knife games, and his stomach was the tabletop.

Lex feels… Well, he doesn't know how he feels. He hasn't been like this since he first noticed Maxi's bruised eyes, which still hasn't faded away and still stands chills down spines. Who could have done this to him, a child? Was it his father? Someone else? Slowly, voice shaking, Lex reaches out to touch the flesh before him. "What happened-"

"Lex!"

Both boys jump together, and look towards the bedroom door, to the voice coming up the hallway. "Lex, are you okay? Who are talking to?"

"Hide!" Hurriedly, Lex pulls the covers over Maxi's body, and forces him to lay down flat on the bed. He can't let his dad see the kid. How can he explain that a boy magically appeared in his room, and is now in his bed with hardly any clothes on? He quickly throws Maxi's discarded clothing under the bed, out of sight, just in time. The door opens and Lexaeus takes one step into the bedroom, head peeking around the door.

"Lex, are you still up? It's getting late."

"Just going to sleep now, Dad," Lex smiles, all innocence and a picture of normality.

"Well, alright then." Lexaeus takes a moment to look around the room, curious, as if searching for something. "Who were you talking to?"

"No one."

The man takes a couple more steps into the room. "I swear I heard another voice in here."

"It was the TV," Lex smiles, trying his best not to shiver. It's kind of hard to lie when soft, ice-cold breath is tickling your stomach, with equally cold small arms wrapped around your torso loosely, chilling the nerves of your skin. "I was watching one of those satire quizzes and the guys on that were on were getting loud."

"…Okay." Lexaeus' shoulders slump, relaxing, and he rubs the back of his neck. "Well, I'm off to bed now, because I have to go back to work tomorrow. Will you be fine to make your own lunch and stuff?"

"Sure. His son smiles broadly at him. "I'm feeling much better. I might be able to go back to school in a couple of days.

Lexaeus chuckles, pleased that Lex was starting to feel better again. He comes over to the bed, and gives the boy a light kiss on his crown, before turning around and leaving the room. "Goodnight, mate."

"Night, Dad."

Lex waits for the door to close, for heavy footsteps to thump down the hallway, for Lexaeus' own bedroom door to close with a thump, before he falls back against the pillows and breathing a sigh of relief. Thank Odin that it was too dark for the man to see properly, thank Leviathan that Lexaeus didn't notice that Lex's legs looked bulbous under the covers, thank Ixion that he didn't put a hand on the bed…

The blankets wiggle around a little, and a round head pops out from underneath.

"Boo." Maxi laughs, trying to stay quiet. "That was close."

"Too close." Lex closes his eyes for a moment, steadies his breath and mumbles a laugh or two. "No more shouting for us tonight."

"Yeah. Agreed… Can I still stay?"

Lex just laughs again, and makes himself comfortable, placing an arm around Maxi's waist. He guess the vampire would stay up all night, or just have a nap, but he didn't seem to mind.

Maxi lays his head down against the human's chest. The thumping beneath the skin and bone is fast and loud, beating a steady drumbeat. "Your heart is racing like crazy. Are you okay?"

"Shh." Lex closes his eyes, running fingers through his friend's damp hair. "It's because you're cold."

"But you're not shivering anymore-"

"Shh."

Lex's cheeks are burning.

He is grinning like a fool.

And he doesn't care.

**OOO**

Mr. Gamble pushes through the shrubbery, and finds himself on the edge of a clearing. This clearing is the home to a lake not yet fully frozen over, and the resting place of a old parked car. He grins.

"Hurry along, Roxanne."

"I'm coming!" Roxanne pushes her way through the plants, down right pissed off. "You could have waited up, Luxord." She picks a twig from her hair, scowling. "Instead of leaving me behind."

"Well, we couldn't let the car get away, could we?"

To be honest, he knew the car would end up here. This place was rumoured to be the place prostitutes and their customers went because it was off the main road, quiet, and the police don't really come down this far anyway.

Gingerly, they walk over to the car. The girl tried to look through the back windows, but the glass is fogged over with the heat inside. She can only just make out a big fat thing on the backseat.

Roxanne swallows, trying to stop herself drooling. "I smell blood."

As she door opens, a freshly-dead man's arm falls down and dangles lifelessly from its shoulder joint. The corpse has deep knife cuts clashing the off-white of its shirt, and its eyes are rolled back, and pale as the snow on the ground, and cloudy like breath in winter. Its head hangs over the edge of the seat towards them, and they can see that its saggy, yellowed throat has been ripped at the Adam's apple by little, biting teeth and its red with it's own blood, still oozing out slowly like melted chocolate from a hot cake, or sludge from a sewage pipe.

Luxoard simply cocks his head to the side. "Doesn't look like he put up much of a fight, did he?"

Unable to control herself - she could never do - Roxanne doesn't respond to Luxord's comment, and just lands hard on her knees, mouth leaching onto the open wound like that of a leech. As she growls and gargles her drink down, the man shakes his head, and then he spots a pink figure hunched down on the banking, a little way off. He gives the car a check-over, finding a battered suitcase in the back, and a two-year old mobile phone in the glove compartment, which he pockets straight away, before picking up the puffy white coat from the passenger seat and walking on over to the water.

Xanthe is quickly rubbing her dragger clean with her bare hands in the chilly water under the ice, which she had to punch a couple of times to get to. Fingers shacking, the blade sometimes slips, and slits and stabs lightly into a flesh with curses and whispers of pain, but she was used to it, because it was often her who had to kill the perverts Luxords lines up in front of the girls.

Men tended to go for Xanthe. Saying that, there is nothing wrong with Roxanne and Alexa. They are both good-looking, and men with a picky preference for blondes and redheads pick them out in a instant, but they are also boyish. Rugged around the edges and sharp and permanently flat-cheated as their male counterparts. Xanthe just happens to be more desirable because she is girlish; soft and rounded, with a fair freckled face and a body frozen at the tip of puberty, so she will always have the slightly wide hips for her age and the peeking B-cup bosom that is not quite a C.

"You alright, princess?"

Xanthe looks up at the sound of his voice, and now Luxord can see the drying blood on her mouth, dripping down her chin onto her pretty dress, and her dilated pupils that took over the blues of her eyes.

The man sighs. Marluxia will nag at him for letting Xanthe get yet another dress stained, but that will come later. Now, he takes the dagger away, coaxes Xanthe back into a coat, zips, and with a bit of water and a tissue from his pocket, he wipes her face clean.

When feed, for a while, a vampire children enters a state of intoxication, as if they are drunk or doped up. Sometimes they become edgy and giddy, or dopey and sleepy, like Roxanne will, and Luxord knows that it will just be him and Xanthe to push the car into the water, and he will have to carry the blonde girl all the way back to their hide-away as she sleeps kids become are like babies after feeding, and in ways, they are. They are young, and get cranky when tired, and are all still virgins after all.

**OOO**

It's 09:30. The sun is rising from the east, and Lex has awoken to a warm bed.

Maxi is gone.

He is not under the covers, or anywhere in the room. His clothes are gone too, and the window is locked from the inside. For a moment, Lex feels sad, but he knows that Maxi would have to go home, to avoid the daybreak. He thinks about that. What would happen to Maxi if he did not? Would he burst into flames, and turn to ash? Would it be painful? Lex guess that it would. He accidentally touched a naked flame in Chemistry class once, and it hurt, leaving a light scar on his right middle finger. It would be, he believed, infinity times worse to have the whole body alight.

Slowly, Lex throws off the covers, and swings his legs over, shoving his feet into his towel slippers. He feels light-headed, like he is full of helium and could float away. He walks over to his desk to grab his dressing gown from his chair. As he throws the blue material over his shoulders, and ties the rope around his waist, he sees a scarp of paper taped upon his computer's screen. Confused, Lex blinks and pulls it off, and starts to read the carefully-written, joined-up writing:

_Goodbyes are not forever_

_Goodbyes are not the end_

_They simply mean I'll miss you_

_Until we meet again…_

_Come out and play tomorrow if you can_

_Your friend forever_

_Maxi x_

Lex smiles. He brings the note to his closed mouth.


	6. Dead, Though I Seem Alive

**Chapter Music:** _Cold Inside_ by Hurt.

* * *

**Rust on the Lock.**

**Chapter 6.**

**Dead, Though I Seem Alive.**

He was meant to get lunch for himself and the others back at the shop, but when Lexaeus passes the police station, he stops and looks at it. Really looks at it. He isn't reminiscing about the good old days on the force; he had stopped doing that ages ago. He is thinking about Lex.

Whoever attacks his boy had no right, and Lexaeus would willingly rip those thugs limb from limb in revenge, but Lex didn't know who they were, and didn't see their faces, and that made things tricky. The boy was obviously scared by the whole thing, even asking his father not to follow on with going to the police… but he had to. He had to do something. He wouldn't be a good dad if he didn't.

He hangs around outside the station for a while. He couldn't go in, with young faces that would recognise him and talk at him, about how great it was when he walking the blue line of the law. It would be nice, but distracting. So he stays in the snow, with his coat collar pulled up around his neck to shield him from the icy winds, until he spots a young skinny man with spiky brown hair stomp down the steps and head down the opposite way of the street.

"Hey. Hey, Squall!"

The young captain stop and turns, surprised to see his former superior catching up with him.

"Lexaeus?" He smiles a little when they are face to face. "H-Hey. How are you doing?" He nearly salutes, but he remembers that Lexaeus told him to stop doing that ages ago, so he just pretends that he is brushing hair out of his eyes. "It's been a while."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Too long… Where are you heading?"

"The café around the corner. It's my turn to pick up the lunch order."

"Ha. It's my turn too at the shop. I'll walk with you."

There is a bit of a silence as the men trudge through the snow in sync, and Lexaeus can't tell with it's awkward or not. It shouldn't be. He was friends with Squall after all… but it had been awhile since they saw each other.

"…How's the Ritual thing going?"

Squall glances over, arching a brow. "Pardon?"

"Why, you know. I though you might have been… stressed," Lexaeus shrugs. "When I was on the force, hell, we never faced something so gruesome."

The younger man sighs, his lips tightening into a thin line. He mumbles as he holds the café door open for Lexaeus.

"No offence, Lexaeus" he says, quiet so no one can hear, despite the lack of customers today, "but you're a civilian. I know you used to be my superior and everything, but we can't give out information out to people who are not involved." He expected Lexaeus to look hurt, but the man just shrugs like it was nothing.

"I understand, Squall. Need to know basis." He pauses his talk to turn to the girl behind the counter. "Ah, our usual order, please… I just thought you might like to talk about it with someone who was on another level."

"Yeah… Just a sec." Reaching into his back trouser pocket, Squall whips out a crumpled piece of note paper, and begins to recite his lunch order for the day. "Okay, we need one turkey on white; two BLTs, one of rye, other on wholemeal; one cheese toastie; three cheese and ham all on white, but one wants tomato and another wants lettuce and tomato; a chicken noodle soap to-go; and four pieces of cheesecake. For drinks, seven coffees, one with sugar, two with milk, two with both; a earl grey with milk; and a green tea."

Looking up, and seeing the confusion on the young waitress's face, Squall realises that he had been daft, and just hands over the paper and lets her go back into the kitchen.

"That's one big order" Lexaeus smirks. "Who wants cheesecake?"

"The girls and me."

The man chuckles a little. "Well, I guess a little dessert doesn't hurt."

"…Actually, that's my lunch."

"What?"

"And a coffee."

"Squall, sorry for sounding like a fussy mother, but… that's not a good diet for a young boy."

The caption actually cracks a smile, shaking his head slightly. "Rinoa tells me that too when she's not being angry at me."

"Rinoa's not happy at the moment?" Lexaeus picks up a couple of plastic forks from the tub on the counter, and slips them into his jacket's inner pocket. "Well, girls get very sensitive when they are pregnant. It's all the hormones and pain they have to go through."

"Hmm." Squall doesn't tell Lexaeus that he had to blow Rinoa and their date off for his work, and when he got home late, she had locked the flat's front door and hadn't made him anything to eat for his tea, or breakfast the next day. It's only now she is starting to cook for him again. The boy looks around the café, seeing if anyone would listen in, then turns back to Lexaeus. "I'll be honest with you, Lexaeus. The Seras girl. At this point, it's highly unlikely we are going to find her alive. It's been ages since she went missing, and no one has seen her. If that blood-draining maniac got a hold of her, we might as well start on a murder case."

Lexaeus arches a brow, but shows no anger or surprise to Squall's confession. "Sounds like you are giving up on the case entirely."

"No, no. I'm not. I'm just… I don't know, tired. This and the baby and Rinoa. I mean…" Squall sighs and seems to deflate with his exhale. "It would be so much easier if you were still with us, Lexaeus. You were always good at balancing these things, and keeping things going."

"I think you're being a little hard on yourself." A large, rough-skinned hand falls firmly, but gently onto the boy's shoulder, and Squall feels his shoulders relax under its presence. He didn't even release he was so tensed up until Lexaeus touched him. "Don't work yourself to destruction, Squall. Maybe… you need a vacation or something. Take a break, for your own sake."

"…I don't think so. Thanks anyway."

The girl returns from the kitchens and gives Lexaeus a bag full of boxes and plastic bottles of drink. He gives her the correct change, and turns towards the door, looking at Squall one last time.

"Well, I guess I better get going or everyone will be hungry and angry when I get back… Take care of yourself, Squall."

"Yeah. You too, Lexaeus…"

As Lexaeus walks out into the street and the cold wind, he looks through the large window of a café to see Squall leaning up against the counter, head down. He couldn't see his face, but he guesses the boy is frowning. It's kind of sad, seeing him like that. When Lexaeus was captain, Squall was eager to learn, to help in cases, even when he wasn't involved in one he would try to put his two words in. He had good promise and now he looks beaten, worn out. A real shame. Maybe it was better that he didn't ask Squall to track down some teenaged punks for him at the moment.

Remembering Vexen's bitchy attitude from the last time he came back late from getting lunch, Lexaeus turns tail, and walks into the falling snow before him.

**OOO**

The closest Shiva temple to Radiant Gardens is ten miles out into the rural fringe, where there is only farmhouses, holiday cottages and a hell of a lot of sheep.

This temple is, by far, not the largest in the world, for Shiva nor any other God, but it's quaint and with a bit of spit and polish, it comes out looking lovely. Within the grey stone walls, the temple is different shades of calm, relaxing blues and whites. The stain-glass windows cast cold-coloured light along the marbled floors. All the padded, mahogany seats face towards the alter at the end of the hall, where a towering glass statue of Shiva Herself stands, arms open, tall and brave - a figure of a willowy, busty, beautiful creature, wearing little clothing, with clawed hands and fingers, Her long, thick hair groomed into twisted ropes.

It's the evening, and Aerith is still tidying up after midday services. Books need to be sorted, charity donations need to be counted, wilting lilies and snowdrops need to be replaced-

A pair of hands grab her from behind.

"Boo!"

"Ahh!" She struggles against the bear hug but relaxes when she sees who is it. "Get off me, Zack."

"What?" Zack grins, looking mischievous and goofy all at the same time. "Am I not allowed to hug my own girlfriend now?"

"Not when she is busy" Aerith sighs, wiggling away. "I'm almost done. Go wait over there somewhere." She waves her hand in some general direction, not really paying attention to where she was waving to. With that said, Zack sighed softly, but childishly, and dumps himself on the top step leading to the alter. He cradles his head between his leather-gloved hands. "So how was work?" Aerith asks.

"Not too bad… I guess" Zack mumbles with a half-hearted shrug. "Boring though… Did you hear about the Shin-Ra building?"

"Yes. It was on the radio. Have they gone over to bug you yet?"

"Of course they have. It's Shin-Ra. You know Tseng and Elena, right? They sent them over to bug Seifer. Not every fair I dare say. Well, anyway, some of us are going over tomorrow to check it out."

"Hmm."

"And Squall and Seifer's bickering is getting annoying by the hour."

"Oh?"

"I mean, it was sort of funny at first, but I mean, come on! Are you men or what? And Irvine said they have been like this since they were kids. Seriously, they both need to grow a pair."

"Um-hmm."

Realising Aerith was only humming to be nice and wasn't really paying attention, Zack looks around the church absently, placing his hands on his knee neatly. "Did Vexen come today?"

"I haven't seen him yet," the woman answers softly, quietly pruning. "Do you want to see your little playmates?"

"Hey. Xavi and Xosé are good kids. Tons of fun-"

"And happen to have the same level of humour you do" Aerith smiles.

Zack furrows his brows. "That's a little insulting, don't think you?"

The women tilts her head to the side and pretends to think about her statement. "…You are right! The children have a far more dry sense of humour then you do."

As Zack is about to defend himself, the heavy old doors at the template entrance open to ajar, letting the chilly winds in and making the icicle-shaped glass of the light hangings jiggle and clink. Vexen sticks his head around the door, his scarf loose and dangling around his neck.

"Evening."

"Good evening, Vexen." Aerith walks over to greet the man at the door, tightening her white rode around her body to keep herself from shivering. "It's quite late, you know. The last services ended a little over a hour ago."

"It's those road." The man's nose wrinkles, like it always does when he is annoyed, as he brushes snow dust off his shoulders. "Knee-deep at least. I was considering not coming in today, but Xaviera is always demanding and told me we had to come. Just like her mother that one."

"Well, at least you got here alright. Hello, kids." Aerith smiles at Xaviera and Xosé as she steps back to let them in. They smile and wave back.

"Oh." Vexen glances back outside, and points the little sensor on his key ring towards his car outside. "Hope you don't mind, the children brought a friend."

"Well, anyone is welcome to-"

Suddenly, a flash of purple and black runs by Aerith, startling her, but it didn't stop until it reached the alter and nearly bowled Zack over too. Zack stared up from his seat, and it took a moment to realise that the flash was actually a taller-then-normal lass with long black curls and crazy braids for hair, glowing violet irises of a mako, and a big grin showing off the wire of braces around her pearly whites.

"Hey Zack." She sounded breathless, but not from running. She was too fit to lose breath from that. "I'm Xenia. You went to my school a little back and - Gods, I sound so lame - I couldn't get the chance to see you, so I- Sorry, I know I sound dumb. I just like, with you and AVALANCHE, I really look up to you and, ya know, I wanted to see you properly, so here I am!"

It finally clicked with Zack and he smiles. The girl is a fan, and Zack likes fans. Not to sound bigheaded or anything, but he likes it when kids come up to him and look up to him like a role model… Or maybe a titan.

"Oh, yeah! Xav and Xosé talk about you sometimes."

"Really?"

"This is the one who punched a senior student in the face" Xaviera says reminding the man. "And broke his nose."

"Let's take a look at you." Zack stands up, hands on hips, playing the master, the knowledgeable one before a new student. He takes a studious look of Xenia, looking up and down. She was just wearing a jacket, and it was obvious she is strong and lean. Must play a lot of sport, along with being blessed with good genes and nutrition. "Hmm. Where are you from, missy?"

"Gongaga" Xenia answers, full of pride. "Like you."

"Thought so." Zack's smile grows bigger, nodding. "They grow them strong in Gongaga."

"So what the hell happened to you?" Xosé asks, and that makes the girls laugh a little. Zack furrows his brow. There was a time where Xosé and Xaviera looked up at him with admiration, but the fascination wore off in time and now they just see him a regular old Zack now, a equal… or maybe knowing these two, a underling. The brats.

Taking the distraction as a chance to flee, Vexen follows Aerith into the backroom, and she makes him a cup of tea, super sweet with a splash of milk.

"I don't think we will be staying long," he says with a matter-of-fact tone. "It's already sundown, and it will be difficult to get back down the hill in the dark with all that snow, and I need to get Xenia back to Xaldin before her curfew… Do you and Zack need a lift, Aerith?"

Aerith shakes her head, putting away prayer books into drawers. "Thanks, but Zack brought a police car up here, so we'll be alright." She turns her attention to sheet music scattered about and under the table in the middle of the room. "And I told the priest that I would clean up after service on my own so he could go home while it was still light."

Vexen smiles. "…You know, for a terrorist, you have such a good person.

Aerith laughs softly under her breath. "Ex-terrorist, thank you very much…" She turns back to her sheets. "And you are very nice for a Shin-Ra scientist. To think my friends and I used to try to destroy your carer."

"I hated that job anyway." Vexen crosses his arms, perching on the corner of the desk. "I only got into it for the munny, and it was easy. Family links and all that."

"…Have you seen your uncle since then?" Aerith asks, wondering if it's her place to give such personal questions.

"Nope, and Xaviera hasn't seen grand-uncle Hojo either. He was never one for children anyway. The girl's attitude would have driven him insane… well, more insane, as the case may be."

Aerith smiles. "Xavi _is _a very free-spirited young thing. She could be anything when she's older."

"Only because she will scare people to get to the top." Vexen peeks out through the opened door, sees the children happily playing around with Zack. Satisfied that they are distracted, he turns back to Aerith. "Do you have the present?"

"Of course I do. Like I would forget it. Do you have the munny?" she asks back. Vexen nods once, and from his wallet, he pulls out a couple of munny notes. Aerith strolls over to the desk, and from her handbag produces a small, light blue box, tied up with a white ribbon to keep the lid on. They exchange items. "I hope she likes it."

"I hope so too." Vexen hides the book in his jacket's inside pocket. "Took me enough trouble to get it for her."

**OOO**

He couldn't believe that he was doing this.

He cleaned himself up, had put on his best shirt and pants, and even went out of his way to find a couple of bottles of wine to take the other night, since he didn't know if he preferred red or white. He was all ready, managed to close his apartment door behind him, get outside, track through the snow… and now Zexion was standing outside the door to the other building, he can do nothing but feel like a fool.

He can't do this. Lexaeus is a nice guy, and he will want to be friends and get attached to him, and when Zexion gets attached to people, bad things happen. Terrible things. It was bad enough to have Maxi run around the place looking for children to play with, now he's doing the same thing.

"This doesn't have to be a start of a friendship" Zexion tells himself, reassuring his confused little head. "He just wants to see you for one night, talk and stuff. Then you can stop it there." And if he didn't go, Lexaeus would think something was wrong, and that might make things even worse.

He made himself breath steady, and looked along the line of buttons on the intercom from the one with a tag marked 'STONE' in black capital letters. He was just about to press it, when the door opened and a boy almost bumped into him. The boy stepped back into the doorway again and started at him, dark eyes widening with surprise and fear. Zexion stared back, taking in the squared features, and curly brown hair, and then relaxed, lowered his eyelids at the kid. "You're Lexaeus' son."

The boy nodded his head, lowing his eyes down to the doorstep as if ashamed of something. "Yes, sir. I'm Lex… It's nice to meet you, Mr. Read."

"It's nice to meet you too, Lex" Zexion says, but doesn't give his voice any emotion. "Your father is expecting me."

"Yeah. He told me you were coming around. He's upstairs. 506." Lex steps back and holds the door open. "Here you go."

"Thank you." Zexion gives the boy a nod and steps inside. When the door closes behind him with a heavy metal slam, he realises that he was actually inside, and he was actually doing this. His legs and hands seemed to work on their own accord, and they made him go inside the lift and press the half-lit number five button. When the doors opened again with a little din, he steps out, and his head is light and dizzy as if it was full of helium. He have fed a couple of nights ago, but only off the blood of a sheep, and it wasn't that helpful to keep him going. He feels shit now.

It takes him awhile but he manages to find the door with the tarnished gold 506, and knocks on the door with a rap of his knuckles. He gives himself a quick look over, pushing annoying licks of hair out of his eyes, dusting his trouser leg off. He waits patiently for a while and nothing happened, so he knocks again, a little harder, only to have the door open and his knuckles bump against a broad chest under a cotton shirt. He withdraws his hand sharply.

"You're here," Lexaeus smiles.

"Y-Yeah. Your son let me in. Am I late?"

"No, no. You're alright. Come on in."

The big guy steps back and lets Zexion into the entrance way. As the boy stepped in, he got a sense of warmth from the place, which was a nice change from the hallway and his own apartment. He let Lexaeus take his coat off him, and he takes his shoes off by the door, and looks around. He feels cosiness, that the place has actually been lived in for a while. It feels safe, like a proper home.

"Do you want me to turn up the heating, Zexion?"

Zexion blinks, and realises that he is embracing himself, and Lexaeus must have read this as him trying to keep warm. He drops his arms.

"No, no. I'll be fine. It was just so… nippy out there." He remembers the plastic shopping bag in his hand and offers it to Lexaeus. "I got some wine."

"Oh, lovely." Lexaeus takes the bag and pulls out a bottle to check the label, and nearly drops it in surprise. "Zexion," he quickly looks in the bag to check the other. "These are really expensive, aren't they?"

"They are?" Nervously, Zexion twists his hair around his fingers, other arm over his chest. It's been a long while since he bought wine, and he wasn't sure what was considered a nice prize for a gift, and what was considered to be showing-off anymore. "I just thought… They were nice. I guess I have expensive taste."

"You can say that again." Slowly getting over his shock, Lexaeus takes the bottles into the kitchen. "I'll pout us some red and put the white in the fridge. Make yourself comfy, Zexion."

"Thanks." The vampire makes his way into the living room, and takes a look around, holding his arms over his chest again. He likes this place. Soft brown wallpaper and burgundy drapes and carpeting that where obviously picked out by a woman, a couple-year-old sofa set and a black leather recliner facing a decant flat-screen telly on a oak cabinet that matched the coffee table and bookcase, which has its back against the far wall and was full with books, with photo frames set up in front of them close to the edge. Many photo frames in fact. He was about to pick up one of the photos to have a closer look, when Lexaeus looked around the corner and his voice started him.

"Would you prefer something else from wine, Zexion?"

The boy shakes his head. "Wine's fine."

"You sure?"

"Yep."

"Alright… You can help yourself," the man smiles, pointing towards the coffee table. Only now did Zexion realise that Lexaeus had laid out various bowls of snack foods out for them, chips, pretzels, olives and the such. Out of courtesy, Zexion picks up a small cracker, places a slice of cheddar on top from the cheese board and pops it into his mouth, chewing in a smile. As soon as Lexaeus returned to the kitchen, he runs over to the wastepaper bin in the corner and spits his mouthful out before he vomits.

He composes himself and returns to the bookcase, looking over the photos again. He spots one with Lexaeus in uniform.

"…You're a police officer, Lexaeus?" he calls out.

"Hmm?"

"In this photo. You're in uniform."

"Oh, that. Yeah, I _used_ to be, way back when. I'm retired now."

"Oh. Why?"

"Reality shock. Got shot in the leg during a raid and, you know, bad leg and the shock…" Lexaeus comes out from the kitchen with a wine glass in each hand, giving one to Zexion. "I couldn't keep going through life like that as a single parent, you know?"

The vampire blinks. "Single? I thought you were married. With the…" He points to the gold band on Lexaeus' left hand. The man looks at it for a time and shakes his head. "No, no. I'm widowed. This is more of a… memento now."

"Oh!" Zexion's eyes widen. "Sorry. I didn't know."

"It's fine." They sit down on the big sofa and Lexaeus takes a drink. Zexion just wets his lips. "It happened ages ago."

"Was she Lex's mother?"

"Hmm."

"I see." Zexion puts his drink down and sighs. "Maxi's mother died too, so I guess we are in the same boat." Lexaeus frowns into his glass as he drinks. He wanted to find common ground with Zexion, but dead lovers was never a good start. "Excuse me for being blunt," the smaller man says, "but how did she die?"

"Car accident. It was horrific. Turned-over truck and anything… And your girl?"

Zexion lolls his head to the side, looking up at Lexaeus for a beat, and his eyes seemed to flash as he was remembering, then looked down.

"Bad birth. She was young and very weak in the body, and Maxi's coming into the world was complex. She was happy though, that the baby was alright in the end. She died a day or so after, leaving a young boy in charge of a tot.

Lexaeus doesn't know how to react to that, but tries to think of something to comment on. "…You look too young to be a father to anyone."

Zexion half-chuckles. "I tell myself that every time I look in the mirror." Every time he looks into the mirror, Zexion wishes that the myth that vampires don't have reflections was true. Instead of blank glass, he saw a fool, a idiot, a horrible little creature. "I don't like calling Maxi a mistake… but to be careless was a silly… no, a stupid thing to do. Now I have a little child to look after while I'm hardly out of childhood myself… However, I have too much pride to step down from challenges, I would like to think. I do anything for that kid."

"I can see that." By now, Lexaeus was refilling his glass again, and he takes a drink from it straight away. "That's why I feel bad now, thinking you might have hit him. I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

"No, it's not… Does Maxi get bullied a lot?"

Zexion wets his lips again, to think about what to say. "…Hard to say. He doesn't tell me everything… Given the chance, he can make friends with anyone, but he is physically weak, you see. People, some people, like to pick on the weak or the different in order to feel superior… I was like Maxi when I was young, but worse. I was very different." He laughs a little more. "I was so lame. Still am."

"I don't think you're lame."

"Well, you don't know me."

"I know a couple of things about you."

Zexion laughs under his breath. "Okay. You have me there." He shifts his weight to the side, and he turns to face Lexaeus, stare squared off with his. "But I think it's a little unfair that you know stuff about me, when I hardly know anything about you."

Lexaeus blinks. "…W-What do you want to know?"

The boy shrugs. "Anything. Childhood. College days." He points over to the photo across the room. "I'm sure you have good stories from the force."

Lexaeus thinks over a moment. He wasn't realised Zexion hasn't eat at all in front of him, despite all the food in front of him. "Well, there was a time we were called to get a naked fan off a blitzball stage…"

**OOO**

It was starting to snow again, so Lex and Maxi retreated inside, into the basement under the complex. The basement is split into various rooms, filled with various amounts of rubbish and things in storage. There is one room with a busted lock that had the least amount of stuff inside - boxes in the corners and the like - so some of the kids that live here had made it like a den, with a old sofa which was left down there in the centre, with a couple of boxes acting as a coffee table. They had found a knackered portable TV and radio too, but they couldn't get a signal underground so they were mostly used for videos and CDs.

Lex checked that the room of vacant first, then let Maxi follow him in. They hung their wet coats over a abandoned chair, then settled down on the sofa.

"This places smells of mothballs," Maxi says, "and sticky smoke."

"Yeah," Lex shrugs. "Sometimes the older kids come down here to do drugs."

"That's a dirty habit." The little boy slumps on the couch as if sleepy. He looks older then he is meant to, his bluish-grey hair more of a matted steal than silver, his skin paling sickly, a tired looked around his eyes that hides his shiner under purple shadows. His hand lays limply on his slightly swollen tummy.

He hasn't a lot of energy tonight, and he didn't play much outside, just wanting to sit for long whiles and curl up on himself. He was a old man in a soft young shell, slowly showing the archaic being within.

Lex ruffles his damp hair a little. "Are you hungry?"

Maxi nods. "But it shouldn't concern you."

"Yeah, but-"

"It should _not _concern _you_."

Lex shuts his mouth again. Maxi sounds harsh, but he knows this is a warning. From what Lex had learned from his novels and the like, a human shouldn't get on the wrong side of a hungry vampire.

As the human shuffles around in his seat, looking a little uncomfortable, Maxi sighs and lolls his head to his direction, making hazy eye contact. "I drank not that long ago, a couple of days in fact, but it was the blood of a pig and it wasn't enough to quench it. Now, I am hungry again."

Lex thinks a little. "…We have black pudding in the fridge. I can get you that if you want."

Maxi giggles. "Thanks, but the blood in that will be too solid for me to eat."

"…What about human blood?" Lex leans over a little closer to the vampire, now baring a curious look. "Aren't you killing more people?"

"…Papa said it is too risky to kill more girls at the moment. The media is buzzing, or something like that. That's what he said."

"Ah." Lex thinks. "You're not breathing properly."

"I am."

"You're not even breathing now."

When Maxi breaths, his chest and the swell of his tummy raises and falls lightly. Now, they are both still, and the slight, almost mute whistle his nose makes when he breaths isn't there at the moment. The boy shifts uncomfortably.

"…Your scent is very strong."

"…Meaning?"

Maxi looks away. "To me, you smell like the earth. Rich, fertile, almost volcanic… Me and Pa find that sort of smell delicious."

Lex's eyes widen and he almost leaps off the batten sofa at that statement. "You want to _eat_ me?"

"No, no, no. I never said that. I don't want to eat you." Maxi shakes his head, but he remembers the times he thought, almost fantasised about sinking his teeth into his friend's flesh, taste hot red fluid on his tongue, and feels shame.

It was common practice for children vampires to offer their blood to one another. Some even make them into games, like kiss chase, running around and squealing at the bites, until a hour later, where they are a sleepy, bloody heap all together, covered in teeth marks. Maxi, many years ago, was exposed to this sort of sport, and now his most favourite drink was from children. It was sweeter in a way, and Maxi always craved more.

"Do I scare you, Lex?"

"You always do." The human frowns, now more sad then fearful. "So you are very hungry then?"

"Starving." Maxi stands, almost falls over with dizziness, but keeps himself up, embracing himself. "I think I better go home. I shouldn't have really come out tonight. Bye, Lex" He walks over to the door, pressing hands against his stomach. Maybe he can fine something running around in the bushes outside before he goes to bed.

"Max! Wait!"

Before he can even touch the door handle, Maxi looks back around to the sofa again, and is surprise to see Lex unbuttoning his shirt, just a little.

"What are you doing?"

"You're hungry" Lex says calmly, almost matter-of-factly. "So, when hungry, eat."

Shocked, Maxi realises what the other lad is suggesting, and he runs out of the door fast. Lex runs after him, and pulls him back into the room easily, shutting the door again and drags across the room, giving him a little shove onto the sofa.

Maxi looked out of him, feeling trapped. "You're crazy!"

Lex shrugs. "I guess I am."

"Lex, I can't drink you! It-It-It would really hurt, and you'll- feel bad for ages."

"I'll try to cope."

"I'm leaving."

The vampire tries to get up off the cushions, but Lex just climbs on top of him and pushes him back down, pinning his arm back down. "Why do you have to be so difficult? Are all vampires this stubborn?"

"Let. Me. Go!" Maxi manages to free a leg, and gives Lex a quick, shape knee to the stomach. It's enough to knock the wind out of his body, and he realises his hold on the vampire's arms. Maxi had no choice be to stay laid down on the sofa, being trapped under Lex's weight still as the boy coughed and gagged, but he calmed down, closing his eyes and finding his breath again. "…I understand what you are doing, Lex… But we mustn't do this. It's bad."

"…I'm only… trying to help" Lex pants, only managing to talk. (Maxi could really hit when he wanted to.) "You can't go around being hungry though. What if you like… attack someone? Just because you're hungry. Do you want that to happen?"

"Well… No, but…" Maxi has no answer to that, and just looks away. Lex can see in his eyes that he was contemplating the pros and cons, the idea of crossing the line, drinking the blood of a friend. "…You won't turn into a vampire from being drawn from… I guess… If you are willing enough… I won't be able to take too much from you, since you're so much bigger then me." Animal hungry was winning over moral, mortal thought. Although Lex was glad that Maxi wasn't going to be starving, he felt a chill of fear down his spine. He was actually going to be bitten by a vampire, like what happens in books and films. It is not as glamorous as in the movies though: no towering black castle, no haunting music, or lightning storms, velvet robes and . They are just a couple of kids in a dingy basement of an apartment block full of unwanted junk. And that made it seem even more real and scary.

Lex tries to be brave, and lowers his head down, levelling his neck to Maxi's mouth. The little boy's lips pull tight into a pale line. "Lex… you are sure?"

"Maxi! For the love of Gods, just do it!"

Lex presses down more, and out of reaction, Maxi yelps and bites. Sharp teeth puncture skin and flesh, and Lex almost cries in bitter, grim pain. To stop himself from screaming out, he has to bite on Maxi in return, clamping his jaws down the shoulder under his head as hard as he can. Tears was springing to the corner of his eyes and his body tried to curl up into a protective ball, only forcing Maxi closer to his chest. The vampire is long gone, sucking and licking up the yummy the red liquid like a baby to warm milk.

The pain is intense, but slowly, surely, Lex doesn't find himself crying out, but laughing softly, actually laughing, enjoying.

It burns him.

**OOO**

"..Thin… coming round… Her eyes are opening."

"Alexa?"

The girl groans and turns away from the boys' faces, burying hers in a pillow. Xenos gives her shoulder a timid shake. "Alexa. Red. Wakey-wakey. How you feeling?"

"…Bloody hell." Alexa doesn't move from her protective foetus position. "…Like shit… It's like I've had a piano dropped on me."

"Don't think Maxi weighs _quite_ that much." Xaime clambers over her, moving from one side of the bed to another. He tries to turn her around slowly. "Xenos, go get Larxene."

"Right." The younger kid runs out of the bedroom, leaving Xaime alone with the irritable lass.

"Come on, Red. Let's take a look at you." He coaxes her to lay her aching head on his lap, and he removes the bandages tangled within her hair, then pull off the padding underneath. Beneath, there is a scabby bald-patch, in a deep red colour that only just stands out from her fiery locks. The brain tissues and the bone marrow has completely healed, but the skin has far to go. It's growing so slowly, hair has already started to grow back before it.

"How does it look?" Alexa asks, voice groggy.

"Honest," the boy says, redressing her crown, "it's like a manky cat rash."

"Joys." The girl closes her eyes again, still tired. "Next time I see Maxi, I going to smash the brat's head to a pulp with a brick. See how he likes it. Ow… Where's my dad?"

"Gone out feeding with everyone… Xemnas and Xoán have been gone for a couple of days though."

"…How long was I out for?"

"Nearly a week all together. You were in and out a lot"

"Oh, crap."

Feet come stumping quickly up the stairs just outside the door, and then Larxene appears with a man's shirt on (looks like Axel's, maybe), wet hair, and every little else on. Not even make-up. She must have been having a bath or something. In her hand, she holds something in her metal.

"Good. You are actually up this time." The woman always seems a little annoyed about something, and Alexa couldn't tell if she was annoyed by Alexa only now just gaining conciseness after so long, or she had her bathing disturbed by the children again. "Come one then. Up, up." She grabs the girl by her hair and pulls her up, making her sit. Alexa pulls away with a scream and her hands on his head, blood-tears springing to her eyes from the hundred-pin-spiking ache boiling up her scalp.

"_Fuuck_. My _heead_. Larxene, you bitch!"

"Quit complaining and take your medicine." The woman presses the silver-plated whisky flask into the girl's hands, up against her chest. "Rabbits blood. Not the best, but it will give you a kick start." She shakes her head as Alexa struggles with the lid. "Can't believe you took a beating off Maxi of all people. The kid is as soft as butter."

"He wasn't on his own, Larxene," Xenos pipes up. "There was someone he was trying to protect."

"I know. You already said that." Larxene looks down at her hand, and turns her nose up at the skin dust and blood glop she had picked up from Alexa's head, and proceeds to rub it clean against the shirt without a second thought. "I'm surprised Zexion let Maxi off his lead and get close to humans… He must be losing it… Anyway, I'm going to finish my bath." The woman turns tail and wonders off out of the bedroom door. "You better drink all of that, Alexa."

The girl takes a swig, and it taste bad and feels congealed. It's already aged, but she was really hungry, so would eat anything. "…Where did you say Xemnas and Xoán are?"

"Read Hunting" Xaime grins.

"But we lost Maxi. They could be anyway."

"Well, thanks to you" Xenos says, looking very pleased, "we have a lead… Dad had to break your fingers to get it, but, still."

Alexa looks down at her right hand and sees how crooked and stiff her fingers are, like a old man's hand. She puts them into her other hand and simply snaps them into place again, like she was just cracking her knuckles. It didn't hurt at all.

**OOO**

"And when we actually found the dog, it ended up on the school's roof, and Irvine suddenly thought he was the world's greatest climber and went up a fire escape and jumped onto the same level of the dog. It was up three floors are something like that. If he had tripped, he could have broken something."

"Haha. Was he on something that day?"

"Not sure. Anyway, when he got up there, he had suddenly realised he was a few feet off the ground and froze up on the spot on a ledge between the dog just sat there and a drop. We had to get the firemen in, and they had a better time getting the dog down then Irvine. He wouldn't let go of the railings up there."

Zexion laughs. "Gods, how did you cope? You must have the temperament of a saint!" He looks down at his watch and blinks. "Hmm. It's getting pretty late. I need to get back to Maxi."

"I guess it is getting pretty late…" Lexaeus lets out a yawn, deep like a lion's roar. "Wonder where Lex is at. He went out ages ago."

"Um, Lexaeus."

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to say thanks, Lexaeus."

"For what?"

"I'm not sure. For tonight, I guess. I… move around a lot so I don't have time to make friends, but this… it was fun." Without thinking, he places a pale little hand on the man's thigh and smiles up at him. "You're a great person."

Suddenly, Lexaeus becomes very aware of that hand on his leg, and he stiffens up, hands clenching. He feels a little uncomfortable, but doesn't know how to tell the boy. Luckily, the big slam of the front door signalling Lex's return made Zexion jump and he pulled his hand back.

There is a lot of clattering out in the hallway; shoes being kicked off to the side, socked feet slipping of the laminated flooring, mumbled swears as the teen bumps into the telephone table.

"Lex, is that you?"

The living room door is thrown open, and Lex is there, a big grin on his lips and his hair tousled and curled. His clothes are messed up too, everything buttoned up around his neck.

"Evening!" says the boy.

Zexion stares, confused, and Lexaeus cocks a brow. "…Have you been hanging around those bad kids from the other building again?"

"What? No. I've been on a run. I feel great!"

Unsure, Lexaeus gets up and walks over to the boy in three quick strides, catching his chin between his fingers. He first smells his son's hair, but can only smell snow and his normal musk. Lexaeus makes a thoughtful sound.

"Breath."

Still grinning like a idiot, Lex exhales a little puff of air into his father's face. Nothing. He just smells of chewing gum.

"Can I go to bed now?"

"…Yeah, sure." Lexaeus lets go of the boy, and Lex turns around, almost falls over to the side, then wonders off down the hallway towards his room.

"G'night, Dad" he calls out before closing the door behind him. "G'night, Mr. Read." Then there is a sound of bed spring squeaking under the weight of a tired child, and all is quiet.

Zexion stands up, looking puzzled. "Is he alright?"

"He's better then he was… I guess this is a good sign." Lexaeus shakes his head. "He… hasn't been that well lately."

"…Well, he seems happy now."

"Yeah… Let me get your coat." Lexaeus grabs the jacket from the pegs near the front door, having to kick Lex's snow-wet boots out of the way before he tripped over them. He held out the jacket, and help Zexion put it on his slender arms and rounded shoulders. "I'm sorry I talked your head off for most of the evening," he smiles. "I'm not much of a talker normally. I must have bored you half to death."

"No, no. It's been fun listening to you." Zexion smiles back, cheerfully. "You're really interesting." When he realises how creepy that sounds, he looks away, looking embarrassed. Lexaeus feels a little flattered.

"Well, maybe we can do this again sometime."

"…maybe." With a coy little grin, and a wave of his fingers, Zexion slips out of the front door, and heads homewards down the corridor. Lexaeus closes the door, not even bothering to see if the boy disappears into thin air again. He rests his back against the door, and closes his eyes with a long, deep sigh. He felt his cheeks, his whole face burn out to the point he swears that he can see his own skin glowing under his eyes. Despite being so suddenly feverish, he places his large hand on his leg, and he can still feel the cold radiating of Zexion's handprint on his thigh as if those slim, icy fingers where still there. He can't stop cupping his hand around the patch and pretending its was.

**OOO**

"…Dad, my feet hurt."

"Then take your shoes off and put your feet in the snow" Xemnas shrugs. "I don't see why you have to tell me."

Xoán just sticks out his tongue, and leans up against a tree to take off his boots and socks. The snow between his toe felt nice, and he lets himself sigh with relief. "Can we go back yet? It's two o'clock now, and we've been walking around for ages."

"I know." But the man keeps on walking away, deeper into the shadows. The boy has to break into a jog to keep up.

"We've been doing this for ages. How do you know wolves will be around here anyway?"

"I don't."

"We are too close to the towns to find wolves."

"Hmm." Xemnas thinks about this for a moment. True, wolves don't really like being near the humans normally, but there was always a chance a pack thought differently. "You never know, boy," he says after a while. "There might be some who twigged that humans are a prim creature to scavenge around. Besides, we can't give in. This might be the only way in which we can locate Zexion and Maximus."

"I know… but still- Hey, wait! Dad, look." Xemnas turns around just in time to see where Xoán is pointing, to see a beast with a brown fur coat slip away under the trees. Satisfied with his find, the man start off into the woods, following the tracks of paw prints in the snow and mud. "Stay there, Xoán. They may not like one many human-liking bodies about."

It doesn't take long to find a pack of wolves hanging around a large tree with twisted, raised roots. Xemnas can see the bitches staring from underneath as he approaches. They are possibly worried about any cubs they may have hiding with them. He has no interest in those, so Xemnas has straight to the alpha, the biggest, toughest looking wolf here, keeping eye contact with the animal. Just in case.

"I don't mean any harm" he says in a soothing tone. "I am actually in need of your assistance." He knells down on the back of his heels, to get to their level, to show them that he is not fearful, or a threat. He is not interested in having his face ripped off and having to went for it to grow back painfully for the next two weeks. "My coven are on the search for some other vampires we know, and the only clue of their way about we have is some cloth from a human they are in contact with… We were hoping, if you would to kind, to use the scent of his blood and sweat to track him down, please."

The alpha tilts his head to the side, pondering, then looks towards three young males on his flank. They step forward, and Xemnas takes out a plastic sandwich bag from his coat pocket. The piece of coat cloth was sticking to the sides, as the blood had dried against them, but just opening the bag a touch was enough. The wolves took turns to stick their muzzles into the bag, and as soon as they picked up the scent of child, flew off into the shadows of the woods, towards the way of towns and villages.

Xemnas smiled. The hunt would soon be over.


	7. Walk the Streets For Money

**Chapter Song:** _Roxanne _by The Police

* * *

**Rust on the Lock.**

**Chapter 7.  
**

**Walk the Streets For Money.  
**

He is two-and-a-half hours late.

Squall had promised that he would be home in time to change before they went out for dinner, but things got in the way. A surprise meeting with the press, set up by the higher-ups. They need to reassure the public, they said. Tell them how hard you are working on these cases and that you are the best of the best for this job, they said. As far as Squall was concerned, the public could shove it. He couldn't care less about the public, and now, because of them, Rinoa was going to hate him.

After taking off his shoes outside the door, Squall enters the flat as quietly as he can, stepping on tip-toes. Maybe Rinoa has gone to bed (if he was lucky.) He could just sleep in the living room so as not to disturb her, drag the spare duvet out of the hallway cupboard and at least he would be safe from argument for the night.

"Squall!"

It was all too good to be true.

Caught out, the man just drops his boots onto the floor and enters the living room. The bright ceiling light was on. Rinoa is sat on the armchair in the far corner. She looks both annoyed and very pretty. She is wearing her new satin red dress with the black ribbon around the waist, hiding her bump discreetly under carefully placed fabric. Her long coat has been cleaned, and is draped down the back of the chair. Her hair is being held back with a hairband. Her nails have been manicured, her face touched up with a little bit of make-up. Her legs are clad in sheer stockings, but currently, no shoes.

Squall took a breath and started to grovel. "Rinoa, I'm so sorry. I-"

"I don't want to hear it." Rinoa cut him off with a bitter tone and a narrowing of her eyes. "This is the second time you have cancelled on me, and this time you didn't even have the decency to phone up to say you are going to be late."

"I tried!" Squall put a hand over his chest. "Rinoa, I swear, I wanted to call, and I wanted to come home, but they kept dragging me back. They wanted me to do a press event at the very last minute. They just brought it up out of the blue."

His defence doesn't seem to be working on his girlfriend. She crosses her legs, and rests her chin on one arm, the other hand cradling her stomach. That was becoming a habit now.

"You could have said no. Say something like, 'I would love to, but I have a pregnant girlfriend at home counting on me to come home on time.'"

"Rinoa, I couldn't. They are my superiors, and my work is very important. I'm the chief of the local police force for the whole town."

"As you keep reminding me," Rinoa scoffs, looking away.

Squall blinks at her, as if allowing something to sink in. His mouth twisted into a scowl.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"…Squall; I understand how important your career is, not just for our family and wellbeing, but for your own personal being. I also understand that with this murderer on the loose, you are under a lot of pressure." Rinoa was trying to pick her words carefully. She was trying to keep face, not to fly off the handle. "However, you can't be Officer Leonhart all the time. You can't be everyone's superhero all the time." She finally looks up at him, and her eyes look soft and round again. "I tried my very best to cope with it before, to be supportive in your decisions and goals, sacrificing my time with you so you could be the thing that makes you happy. But I can't do that anymore. Not now. Squall, we are going to have a baby. You are going to be a daddy, and both I and this child will need you around. We don't need Captain Leonhart. We need Squall, that nice guy who is loyal to his friends and likes to laze around the house on Sundays. Why can't we go back to that?"

"Because it can't be like that right now!" Squall ran his hand through his hair. It felt greasy and it had lost its natural bounce. It made him feel old and even more tired. "Rinoa. My darling Rinoa. I love you, but you are asking for a lot right now. This case is big, and a lot of people are at risk. You could be at risk. The kid could be. You need to understand that I can't just drop everything to please you all the time. It's selfish."

The woman's eyes widened. "I'm being selfish now? Just because I want you to be here for our baby?"

"No. You're being selfish because you want me to bend over backwards for you. My life isn't always about you, Rinoa!"

There is silence now. Rinoa looks like she is about to cry, her bottom lip quivering. At any moment she could be burying her face into her hands and sob black tears, mascara running down her powdered cheeks. But she doesn't.

Her face twists with rage as she stands up sharply, and she grabs her coat roughly, throwing over her shoulders as she storms out of the room.

Squall follows. "Where are you going?"

"I don't know. I don't really care. I just don't want to stay here right now." She pulled out a small bag from her side of the bedroom wardrobe and started to throw stuff haphazardly into it: pyjamas, some clothes, and a change of underwear. "I'm going to stay with somebody else tonight."

"What? Where?"

"I don't know."

"Rinoa, can't we talk about this first?"

"I don't to talk to you right now." She pushes past him on the way to the bathroom to get her toothbrush. On her way out, she picked up her purse from the telephone table. "I'll call you in the morning if I feel like speaking to you."

"Rinoa, wait. I'll-"

The door slammed behind her.

It isn't until she is on the next bus to town does Rinoa realises she has nowhere to go, and she has forgotten to put some shoes on.

**OOO**

"…And then I came here… I didn't know where else to go and I guess I started to panic a little. I would have gone to Selphie's, but she and Irvine are decorating the place. They don't have the room right now, and the fumes might not have been healthy for the baby." Rinoa pauses for a moment as Lexaeus passes her a mug of hot chocolate, and she takes it with a little smile. "Thank you… I guess I could go to a hotel for the night so I'm not in your hair."

"Don't be silly, Rinoa" Lexaeus sighs, passing a pj-clad Lex his own mug of coco across the table before taking a seat at the kitchen table himself. "It's eleven o'clock at night on a Sunday. You will struggle to find a place. Anyway, you would be much safer staying here where at least someone can look after you."

The woman furrowed a brow a little over the rim of her cup. "I don't need looking after, but I am thankful the concern, Lexaeus."

"What were you fighting about anyway?" Lex asks.

"Just things" Rinoa shrugs. "…Stupid, pointless things."

"I think it's time you go to bed, Lex" Lexaeus says point-blank.

The boy looks at him. "What? Why?"

"It's late, and you are going back to school tomorrow. You better get some sleep."

"You're going to talk to Rinoa and not let me listen."

"Bed, Lex."

The boy sighs, rolls his eyes and gets up, taking his mug in his sleeve-covered hands and moodily heads towards the door. Lexaeus chuckles at him. "Does your old man get a goodnight kiss?"

Lex pauses at the door, looks over his shoulder a touch, then shuffles back. He draws his head down to Lexaeus's, then instead of kissing his cheek, he nips it the man's skin with his front teeth, lightly but enough to make the man jump down. He then turned tail and quickly escapes down the hallway.

"The little bugger." Lexaeus rubs his cheek, a smile on his face. "How cheeky can you get?" He turns to the girl across the table, expecting her to have cracked a little grin, but Rinoa just stares down into her cup, as miserable as before. Lexaeus sighs. "I should get my bed sorted out for you. The fold-out will be a little stiff for you but it'll be fine for me for the night." He waits for a reply but nothing comes. "Are you not going to decline my offer?"

"I know better than to fight with you, Lexaeus" the girl says factually. "You are a very stubborn man, and too kind for your own good… I suppose you are going to call Squall to tell him where I am."

"It would be nicer if you called him yourself."

Rinoa thinks about it, but only for a second. She just shakes her head.

"I don't want to speak to him right now."

Lexaeus sighs, deflated and defeated.

"Very well. Can I have his number?" he asks. When Rinoa handed him her mobile phone, with Squall's name visible on contacts list, Lexaeus took it into the hallway so Rinoa could finish her hot drink in peace. It didn't take long for Squall to pick up.

"I'm sorry about dinner. I'll make it up for you. I'll make you dinner right now if you want to come home. I'll run you a bath and give you a massage if you want. Just come back home."

"Thanks for the offer, Squall, but I'm not that kind of guy."

"…Lexaeus? …Oh. She went to stay with you. Good… I was getting worried. She wouldn't answer her phone."

"Well, she was in a bit of a state when she got here." Lexaeus can hear the sound of gargling on the other end of the phone; like liquid running out of one thing to another. Squall must be drinking or something. "I could try to convince her to take a taxi home, if you want?"

"…If it's okay with you, Lexaeus, could she just stay there with you? It's not good for her to be traveling around this time of night. I'll come and pick her up tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah, that's fine… Want me to try and get her on the phone at least?"

"No, no. It will be too much hassle. I'll speak to her tomorrow when she's not so… tired."

They says goodnight and Lexaeus returns to the kitchen.

"Squall was worried about you" he says, giving the girl for phone back and a quick re-fill. "He was talking about dinner and massages like an idiot. I'm jealous of you."

Rinoa finally cracks a smile, looking up from her lap to beam up at her friend.

"… He gets very grouchy sometimes, doesn't he?"

**OOO**

Zexion can't truly feel the lukewarm temperature of the shower water rolling down his back, but he wanted some steam around him, fogging up the window and mirror over the sink. He is sat on the floor of the bath, knees up against his cheat, hands on knees, and his eyes closed. Thoughts are plaguing him, teasing him. Thoughts of a man with a strong, warm body and big hands, rough from work but very gentle and mindful of their actions, carefully caressing Zexion's face, running up and down his neck and shoulders.

It has been years, decades even, since he was in a proper relationship, or when he had sex just for the pleasure of it and not just for money. He doesn't get many people he considered attractive; sometimes he finds them downright repulsive.

Although Zexion has met some beautiful people in his time, he has always had a preference for men; tall, broad men with wide shoulders, defined cheekbones and a natural earthy musk. The vampire could almost smell the scent of fertile dirt, feel a muscular chest press against his smooth back, and that was enough to get his arousal going. Pushing his wet, clinging hair from his face with one hand, he reaches down and curls the other around his growing erection.

Every customer has their own way of doing things. Some just want to meet up, fuck, exchange money and leave, and Zexion is fine with that. Others like foreplay and some have little kinks they like and they can't get off without it. There have been a couple of instances when the customer just needed company, or a piece of arm candy to show off at events. No matter what, Zexion would always be the means to an end for his customers.

His own hand is small and smooth, but Zexion can imagine someone else is touching him. Someone with large palms, and work-worn skin, gently stroking as he starts to nip and kiss along the vamp's shoulders and neck. He had always had a thing for being bitten.

On the rare night, Zexion would get a customer who would fall for him. A boy with suppressed urges looking for first sexual experience, or a neglected housewife looking for a guy to give them what their husbands couldn't measure up to. They would fall for his looks and his nice way of talking, his manners, and they would want him to keep coming back. Sometimes it would lead to those customers confessing their love for him. He would make up excuses: I'm poor, I have a kid, you deserve better. Most of the time it ended up with moving away and never answering calls. It's hard being a heart breaker.

He starts to stroke faster, and he bites down on his bottom lip, trying to keep the noise to a minimum. The walls in this flat are paper-thin. Maxi was asleep, but neighbours could be up in the early hours of the morning. He didn't want them to come banging at his door, ruining his pleasure. He can hear his imaginary friend mumbling against his skin, and can feel that low, deep voice rumble through that grand chest and against his back. It made him break out in goosebumps.

The only time Zexion revealed he was a vampire to customers was when he had found himself locked in a room with a sadist and his gang of friends. Zexion had agreed to an hour with one person, not to go thrown about between five creeps. When they started to slap him around to get him to do as they say, something just snapped. It could have been something in the air, in the atmosphere, or maybe something within Zexion himself, but whatever it was, all he knew was that one moment he had his teeth sinking into a hairy-knuckled fist, and the next he was standing in a destroyed room surrounded by five bleeding bodies. They were far from dead, but they were in pain. One was losing a fluid through his eye. By the next night, Zexion had packed everything up, and he and Maxi were on the next train out of town.

"Lexaeus!"

Zexion comes, and it's done. He is not with anyone special. He is just sat in the dark bathroom alone with a wilting cock and a dirtied hand. One moment he was in bliss, now he is just a lonely guy in a bathtub.

**OOO**

It was not quite the first day back at school Lex was hoping for.

This morning, halfway through breakfast, Squall came around to pick up Rinoa. He had to wait for her to finish her breakfast, so he just stood there in a far corner of the kitchen with a cup of tea, not joining in with the conversation. The only time he spoke was when Lexaeus directly talked to him, and only then the officer talked in short, factual sentences. He and Rinoa didn't make much eye contact.

It was much worse on the way to school. Squall offered to drop Lex off at school in his car, and the couple still didn't talk to each other. Squall focused on the icy road ahead, and Rinoa would turn around to talk to the boy sitting in the back seat from time to time, but when she didn't they sat in awkward silence. Lex couldn't wait to get into class.

When he got to first period, only Xosé was there to greet him. During lunch, he and Xaviera filled Lex in: an upper-school twat was picking on Dexter, calling him out on his mum, saying nasty stuff, so Xenia started a fight. It was like the whole school came running across the playground to encircle them, cheering for death, or at least for a broken arm. Dexter got a couple of days off for 'emotional recovery' or something like that. The older kid and Xenia got excluded from classes for two weeks.

It was weird when the conversation turned to Lex. His friends said that he still didn't look too good. Xaviera said something about blood.

"Did they punch three pints of blood out of you or something?"

"I was just in shock for a long time… Do I look that bad?"

"You're almost paler then I am, and I'm quarter-albino!"

Lulu was glad to see that Lex was in class, and was equally glad that he had done all the homework she had been sending to him. He was a good boy. She called for him to stay behind after class.

"You still look pale but I'm glad that you are well again."

"Thanks, Lulu."

"Do you think you are well enough to do me a favour?"

"Depends."

She rested a hand on a ring-binder, which was bulging with paper and worksheets. "I've been giving Dexter's work to Hayner for him to take home, but I have no one to give Xenia's work to. I would have asked Xosé but I understand he lives across town from her. Do you think you will be able to drop this off for her?"

When Lex got home, it was already past twilight, and his dad wasn't home. He was still at work, and he was going out that evening with his friends, so Lex would have been on his own anyway. Might as well go over to see Xenia for a while. He phoned her up while he was making a quick bite to eat, warning her that he was coming over, and then got dressed. When he took his turtle-neck and crisp white shirt, he caught his reflection in the mirror on his wardrobe. He found himself staring at himself, a little surprised by what he saw. From the crook of his neck, to midway across his shoulders, bruising has bloomed, with patchy purple petals and red centres where bites have turned to scabs and little welts. They were a little gruesome, but Lex thought they were kind of pretty. He likes to run his fingers over the wounds, to feel the lumps and scratches. It made them feel sore and sharp like a bee's sting, but he's grown to get used to the pain. In fact, he quite likes it. He doesn't know why, he just does. It is a bit upsetting that he has to wear collars now, but if he didn't, people would ask questions.

Now changed and ready to go, Lex makes his way outside. It is dark, and it's snowing again. Light flakes were gleaming in the street lamps, and the wind is almost still. He can hear the ice crunch under his feet with prefect clarity. The night is almost peaceful.

"Hey there!"

Lex jumps, and looks up and towards the children's playground, to find a pair of big blue eyes staring down at him from the climbing frame. They look tired, and one is bruised.

"Oh, Maxi, it's just you." Lex sighs and smiles softly. "You scared me."

"Sorry." The little vampire stands up on the bars then jumps down, landing over the fence. He doesn't tumble or bend his knees, but Lex still flinches on impact. Maxi comes running over, all smiles. "How was school?"

"Not that bad. A bit uneventful overall, but that's school for you."

"Where you off to?"

"I'm off to see a friend." He shrugs his shoulder, gesturing to the bag he had on his back. "My teacher asked me to take some homework to her."

"Why?"

"She hasn't been at school recently."

"Why?"

"Because she got excluded."

"How come?"

"She got into a fight."

"Which friend is it?"

"Why do you insist on asking all of questions?" When Lex sees that Maxi was a little hurt by that, he changes his tone. "It's Xenia. That girl I told you about, remember?"

Maxi nods. "Yep. I remember… Can I come with you?"

Lex's mouth twists into an odd shape. "Um… I don't know."

"Oh, please, Lex." Maxi grabs for the older boy's hand and gives it a squeeze. He tries his best to look cute, batting his eyelashes. "A friend of my friend is also my friend. I would love to meet some of them. Even just the one and you said yourself that Xenia is a very nice girl."

"I did, didn't I?" Lex thinks about this for a moment. He looks up and down at Maxi's clothes. The lad is wearing shoes tonight, and he had a coat on, so he looks pretty normal. And he has been getting quite a bit of blood lately (Lex should know) so he wouldn't have cramps. "…Okay. I guess as long as you don't do any weird vampire stuff, I guess I'll take you."

"I promise I will behave." Maxi beams, drawing across his chest with a finger. "Cross my heart."

**OOO**

The bus ride took about twenty minutes, more or less, until they got off the bus on Salt Lake Lane. They had walked around the corner into a cul-de-sac. At the bottom of the cul-de-sac, there is a driveway leading towards a house hidden by tall trees. All the lights in the house appear to be on, but the path still seems so dark and scary; Maxi held Lex's hand all the way to the door.

"Is Xenia nice as you say she is?"

"Sure she is" Lex smiles. "I wouldn't be friends with nasty people, right?"

"I guess not…" When they step onto the porch a light above comes on, illuminating the snow around the ground and the holly wreath on the door. Lex stops for a moment, thinking, before pressing the doorbell. Maxi hears the charming of electronic bells from the other side of the wall.

"Okay. She is a little rough, and has a bit of a mouth, but she's cool. Trust me."

"'Kay…"

When the door opens, Maxi's eyes widen at the sight of their greeter: A girl, tall for her age, only an inch or so shorter than Lex, with broad shoulders but wide hips and already blooming breasts at the early stages of growth. Her hair is long, black and a mess, tied up in a high ponytail with a chopstick stabbed through the base. She is wearing a loose purple jumper, matching the colour of her eyes, and white legging with nothing on her feet.

"Hi, junior." When she smiles, you can see the wire of a removable retainer around her upper row of pearly whites. She notices Maxi for the first time, and she looks at him as if he is a little oddity, her eyes turning big and round as she leans in to get a closer look at him. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Maxi," Lex explains. "He lives on my complex. He's new in town so I'm hanging out with him."

"He's cute" the girl says in a matter-of-fact manner, saying it as if Maxi was just a deaf doll and he couldn't hear her. After a moment, Xenia stands up straight again and wakes back into the house with her arms wrapped around herself. "Come on in then. No use having you guys standing out in the cold."

The boys follow her inside, and Lex smiles when the smell of home-cooking reaches his nose. The Lance household always smells delicious, especially this time of year. It goes well with the scent of fresh pine needles.

"See. Told you Xenia was alright. She called you cute. That was nice, right? …Max?"

He turns around, finds Maxi took standing in the middle of the hallway, looking towards the kitchen door, dripping water from the melted snow all over the laminated floor. Lex looks past him, to see an angry ball of black fur growling at him. Xenia has a cat: a fully-grown, short-haired female with a bit of an attitude problem. She isn't very good around people who aren't her owners, but tonight she is more on edge than normal. She is just standing there, her back arched and her tail fluffed out, round yellow eyes staring at Maxi, and he is staring back, petrified with fright. Lex came over to Maxi and gently rests his hand on his little shoulder.

"I guess the thing about cats not liking vampires is true then?"

When the feline starts to make the most unholy of noises, Xenia came back out of the kitchen again. She blinks, and smiles at Maxi kindly.

"This is just Lani. She a bit of a grump but she's fine once she gets u-"

"Hssss!"

"Lani! Behave!" Xenia put her spoon down, pushes some hair out of her eyes. "Okay, she a little more grumpy than normal… Go into the living room or something, and I'll sort her out."

Lex nods and takes the order, having to push Maxi along to get him into the den. The boy is too shocked to walk, never taking his eyes of the cat, just in case it tried anything. The cat stares back, becoming more and more furious as the vampire moves deeper and deeper into her home. By the time they manage to get into the room and Lex closes the door, the puss is more of an angry ball of fur, and was meowing loud and harshly. As he pulled off his coat, she could hear Xenia outside:

"God's sake, Lani. What the hell is wrong with you? Did something scare yo- Ahh! The little bitch! That hurt! Out now! Out, out, out!" The front door opened again, and closed with a rage-filled bang. "Stupid cat." When the girl comes in, she has her hand to her mouth, sucking the back of it until her skin tightens and rises from the bone. "That horrid little thing scratched me."

Lex quickly glanced over to Maxi over on the sofa. The little lad was taking off his shoes, looking up at the Christmas tree in the corner with grant curiousness. Lex looks back at Xenia. "Are you okay? Not bleeding, right?"

"Nope. It just stings. I'll just put some cream on it." The girl leaves just as quickly as she came, returning to the kitchen. "Want some tea?"

"Please. Milk and sugar."

"I know. I know…"

Lex takes a deep breath in through his nose, taking in the fresh smell of pine needles. That was close. The way Lani just seemed to pick up on Maxi's scent, as if she knew all about him and his kind; it was a little unnerving.

He chuckles a little as he shrugs off his coat. "So I guess the thing about cats having a sixth sense about vampires is true then?" he mumbles. When Maxi doesn't answer, he blinks and looks around. "Max?"

Maxi was standing up again, scared solid, big round eyes staring at the window. The cat was on the other side of the pane, sat on the windowsill and looking in. She looked almost furious, enraged that she had been kicked out of the home when she was just trying to protect it from a monstrous enemy. It was insulting.

Carefully, Lex steps around the tree and finds the cord for the curtains. Just as he pulls it, as the curtains draw together, he is sure Lani turns to him, and gives him the scariest, iciest stare that the cat has ever given a human. He only sees it for a second, and he is unsure if it was actually real. He doesn't have the courage to look. He just turns tail and takes Maxi to the kitchen, where it is safe from cats; the windows are too steamy to look through.

Xenia isn't like other kids when it comes to food. While Lex is happy enough to just put a ready-meal into the microwave for dinner, or just to snack on something from a package, Xenia liked making fresh hot meals. Tonight, she had put some pasta on to boil, and was making a tomato sauce and potato salad for sides.

"I made some for Pa too," she says, throwing parsley into the sauce, "for when he comes home, but I think I made too much. You want some?"

"Yes please!" Lex licks his lips as he helps Maxi onto one of the stools around the counter island in the middle of the room. "I'm starved."

"You want some, Maxi?"

The little boy shakes his head, smiling sweetly. "No, thank you."

"You sure?"

"I'll already eaten."

Maxi is actually coping very well, despite the strong odour of human grub. He would normally be on the verge of throwing-up by now. Lex guesses that not breathing most of the time was helping him out.

Lex pulls a big folder out of his bag. "This is all the work Lulu wanted to give to you." He put it down on the counter. "Have fun getting through all of that."

Xenia scoffs. "Not that I have anything else to do. Pa's at the hospital all day, you guys are at school, so I have nothing to do, apart from do chores. I need more of a challenge."

"Well, it is kind of your own fault," Lex shrugs. He looks at Maxi, smiling. "I already told you she got into a fight, right?"

Xenia shook her head suddenly, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"Xosé and Xavi told me you got suspended for breaking a kid from upper school's nose."

"Hey, it wasn't like I randomly attack him." As she talks, Xenia chops up the vegetables for the potato salad. "He was bullying Dexter and Hayner in the playground at lunch, calling their mum all sorts. Hayner pretended that it was nothing, you know, acting cool, but the guy wouldn't shut the hell up. He was calling her a crazy bitch and everything, and he deserved a punch to the face, so I obliged. I mean, Ms. Rivers is not mental. Depressed, yes, and has to take pills and has a wobbly from time to time, but she's not mental."

"Why is she depressed?" Maxi asks. His child-like curiosity was getting to better of him.

Xenia loses her smile altogether, and awkwardly shuffles her feet. "Well, you know- Well, I guess you don't know, but still." She is half-mumbling words. "She has four sons to look after, and she's doing it on her own. Well, Zell and Demyx can more or less look after themselves, but there's still Hayner and Dexter, and it's… like, hard on her. It's hard to look after kids when you need someone to look after you."

Maxi cocks his head. Like most little kids, he can't tell when it's time to quit. "What about their dad?"

"…He left them for another woman."

"That's horrid." Maxi furrows his brow. "What a nasty person. That other woman sounds wicked too." Without warning, Xenia's face turns red, and she rushes off and disappears through a door at the other end of the room, into the pantry where they kept various bits and bobs. After a quick moment, Maxi looks up at Lex and frowns. "Did I do something bad?"

Lex tries to appear smiley, but found it a little hard. He puts a hand on Maxi's shoulder.

"The other woman was Xenia's mum."

"…Oh." The vampire looks down at his feet. "Sorry."

"It's okay. You didn't know." He squeezes his little shoulder gently, but firmly. "You just stay here, and I'll try to drag Xenia out of her cave."

He found her aimlessly looking through bottles of wine and soft drink, none of which she needed for the meal. She was just looking for an excuse not to go back out there.

"Xenia, what the hell?" Lex walks up right up to her, crossing his arms. "You didn't have to fly off the handle like that."

Xenia doesn't turn around. "You know that I don't like talking about that crap."

"Yeah, I do, but Maxi didn't. There is no need to act like that."

"Don't tell me how to act!" When she whips around, her ponytail almost hits Lex in the face. Her violet eyes are almost black with anger. "You should you tell your little friend to keep his cute fucking mouth shut!"

"Hey! How about you shut up?" He hates shouting, and he doesn't feel too well for a yelling match, but it is the only way Lex can put the girl in her place. "You can't always act like the victim, Xenia. At least your mum's not dead!"

There is an awkward silence, and Xenia looks embarrassed. She lowers her head and rubs the back of her neck.

"I know. None of us have had the best of luck with parents, right? You lost your ma, Xosé had to go and live with his brother. Xaviera has the best situation really, and still then her folks are divorced… It just stresses me out. My mum stresses me out. We didn't even know about the affair until they decided to move out of town together. The cow even dared to try and take me with her. After she lied to me, and destroyed one of my best mate's families. The Rivers' never had a best time with their dad when he was around, but at least he was there. Now they never hear from him. And it scares me to think that me and Dex and the other boys might be family now. We could share a half-brother or sister or something. It just makes me… you know, mad." She smiles weakly. "Great, now I feel like a jerk. For freaking like that. Guess it doesn't help that my period is due in a couple of days."

"At least you've calmed down now," Lex smiles. "Want a hug or something?"

"…Yeah. A hug sounds good right about now."

As Lex holds her, he catches the scent of Xenia's hair. She always made sure that it was clean and healthy, so it always smells nice. It's a familiar aroma, almost comforting. He has been friends with Xenia since they were babies, mostly because their dads were friends before they even thought about having kids, but he still liked her a lot. A lot of people have often said that they might end up going out, dating, but Lex doesn't think so. It would be too weird.

"Shit! The pasta!"

Hands push against his chest, and suddenly Lex's arms are empty, and he is standing in the pantry alone. It doesn't take long for Xenia to get over stuff.

The rest of the evening goes without a hitch. Xenia and Maxi exchange apologies, and all three of them sit around the island talking as Lex and Xenia eat their pasta, and quickly followed up with pieces of fudge cake that were sat at the back of the fringe. Maxi didn't have anything.

When it turns 9:30, Lex and Maxi put on their shoes and say goodnight to Xenia. When she opens the door for them, Lani comes running back inside and bolts up the stairs, to just sit on the top step and stare them out. She was glad to see the back of them.

As they walk to the bus stop, Lex thinks about what they are going to do when they got home. His dad isn't going to be back for a few hours now, so he could let Maxi in. They could watch a film together, or maybe he could try to teach Maxi how to play video games again; he didn't really manage to master the control pad last time. Maybe the film would be a better choice, so he could let Maxi feed on him during the first act, and just feel the buzz of blood loss for the rest. He was getting used to the good feeling.

"Sorry about the cat," Maxi says. He reaches out and clutches onto Lex's hand.

The big boy smiles. "Hey, don't worry about it… Do all animals acted up like that with vampires?"

Maxi thinks about it for a moment. "…Well, yeah, for the most part. Some animals like us. Like wolves. Mice. Lots of different birds like us."

"So why not cats?"

"They are friends of witches. Their allies and familiars. Witches can still be harmed by vampires, so their cats would warn them. I think all cats are born with that sense… but that cat was very angry for just a normal cat." A beaming smile suddenly appears on Maxi's face. "Maybe Xenia is a witch!"

"I really hope not." Lex shudders at the thought of Xenia in a pointy hat and cape, cackling wildly on a broomstick. "One creature of the night for a friend is plenty creepy for me."

**OOO**

Tonight's night-crawl was mostly uneventful, but pleasant. After visiting a few bars through Kalm, they ended up at 7th Heaven; they usually do. They grabbed a light, late-night dinner, and chatted with Barrett and Paine whenever they came walking by their usual table. Well, bar Demyx. He had a dinner of more beer and spent most of the time watching Rikku bounce around the bar in a cute mini-skirt and her tight little jumper, and trying to hit on her. She polite rejected him the first few times, but towards the end of dinner her Al Bhed temper came out and she slapped him across the face. He lost interest immediately.

Now, they are driving back in Xaldin's car, through the roads of young students and neon clubs. Lexaeus is in shotgun position. Vexen was against one back window, almost dozing. Saïx is at the other window, looking out with a bored expression on his face. Demyx is grumbling on the hump in the middle, still caressing his swollen cheek.

"I can't believe she slapped me. She could… could have just said no, like a normal person."

"She did," Lexaeus tells him. "You didn't listen."

"I swear she swore at me in Al Bhed or something. I was assaulted!"

"Demyx, really…"

"Ignore him." Saïx does turn from his window. "He just got rat-arsed again. His brother will probably toss him into the shower when he gets home."

"Oh fuck, I nearly forgot." Demyx forgets about his poor, beautiful face for now and bolts up in his seat. "Right. Right. Get a load of this. Zell's got himself a new bird. Not just, like, a fuck- fuck buddy or whatever, but a proper… you know, girlfriend. Buys her things and shit. Talks all night on the phone with her."

"Well, that's a good thing, right?" Lexaeus asks, looking over his shoulder. By now, he is the only one bothering to pay Demyx's ramblings any attention. "It means he's settling down a bit and maturing a little. If he can hold down a girlfriend then it must be a step in the right direction."

"Yeah, right. I know. But, still, she's like totally not his type. You know, with the big boobs and stuff. But she's all small and smiley and… sugar and rainbows! And she only a C-cup."

"People's tastes change, Dem. Even from one extreme to another." Lexaeus thinks about his own words for a moment, and thinks of Zexion. Every time he thinks of Zexion now, he gets a chill on his thigh, like the boy's hand is lying there again. Small, slim hands with long, sharp nails.

"Oh! Get this!" Demyx's yapping brings the old guy back to reality for the moment. "She's only six-teen! That's younger then I am!"

"You do know Rikku's only fifteen, right?"

Xaldin sighs, shaking his head. "Don't start him up ag-"

"What?"

"Too late."

"What the hell is she doing serving in a bar then? That's illegal!"

"Demyx, she's poor. I'm sure you can turn a blind-eye to that sort of… thing…"

Lexaeus trails off, as he spots something in the distance down the road. In the light of a streetlamp, he can see a small, thin figure in a scruffy little jacket with a mop of messy hair. It could have been anyone, but who often sees such a young guy with silver locks. Time just seems to stop, or perhaps stop existing at the car rolls on down the road. The figure is with another; a big one which was flailing its arms around. He seems angry at the smaller, shouting loudly, but Lexaeus can't make out what he is saying, even as they come in line with them. As time comes back into motion, a rough hand grabs a jacket collar, and Lexaeus clenches with fists.

"Xaldin. Pull over."

"What?"

"Pull over!"

Xaldin stomped the break, and the car came to a quick, sharp halt along the side of the pavement, badly parked and over double yellow lines. The three in the back are all thrown forward, and Vexen hits his head against the rim of the window, snorting awake.

"What in the name of Shiva are you doing?"

Lexaeus doesn't explain. He just unclips his seatbelt, and steps out the car, not bothering to slap the door shut behind him as he makes his way back down the street. He only focuses on the figures in the street lamp's glow, and it seems that no matter how fast he moves, he isn't getting there fast enough. It's like the spot of light is always taking a step away from him, and that feeling and distance is just making his very blood boil.

As he gets closer, he can now hear their conversation, and nothing else. Their shouting seems to drown out everything, from the car motors to the chatting to club-goers.

"So you're just going to deny me?"

"I already told you I don't do bondage! It said it on my ad."

"That's not what my mate told me!"

"Well, I don't… You haven't even paid me yet. You could just go off and find someone else who does."

"I came across two towns. Two towns! I've heard from my buddies you were the best fuck around, and didn't come this far just to have a queer little whore tell me I'm not good enough for them! What does it have to take? I'll drag you into the alleyway if I have to and-"

Lexaeus doesn't realise that he has punched the bastard until he sees him crash to the ground clutching his face, sees the passing groups of youths with startled looks, and he hears Zexion scream.

"Lexaeus! What the hell is wrong with you? What are you doing here?"

"…I was just out for a drink," the man says calmly. His knuckles start to feel numb, so he flexes his fingers over and over again. "And I just saw you as I drove by."

The guy on the ground gets up at last, and he is pissed. His cheek is bright red and it already start to swell. He looks down at Zexion, and throws a hand towards Lexaeus, pointing him out.

"Who the fuck is this? Your pimp?"

"No. He's… a friend." The boy looks up at Lexaeus with frustration and annoyance. "And he was just leaving."

"I'm not leaving you!" Lexaeus realises that he is shouting, so he tries to calm himself, uncurling his fists. "Do you really think I am going to leave you alone with this man? After I just saw him threaten you? I am not going to turn a blind eye to that."

"Hey listen, mate!" This stranger starts to prod Lexaeus in the chest. The smell of alcohol is strong on his breath, and he looks tired. Lexaeus wasn't very impressed. "This is between me and the little guy. You haven't got anything to do with this. So how about you just turn and walk away before you end up doing something you are going to regret- ah!"

"I've had quite enough of you," Lexaeus says, trying his best to keep calm as he grabbed the guy by his shirt front and lifted him off the ground by a couple of inches. The fearful expression on the twat's face is priceless. Zexion tries to get the bigger guy to drop him, but Lexaeus just gently nudges him away. "Look here, mate. First off, I'm ex-SOLDIER and an ex-cop, so I don't think it would be very wise for you to start threatening me. Secondly, you started all of this by threatening this boy in various ways, and I only came to defend him. And thirdly, I still have good friends on the force, and I think they will more likely take my side of the argument, do you understand?" He drops him carelessly to the ground. "So how about you just walk away and leave this nice young man alone, hmm?"

This only seems to make the guy even more annoyed, as he stumbled about to try and get his footing again. "I don't take orders from anybody! Even from a so-called ex-cop. How about you-" He falls back a little, and he lands on something solid and warm that wasn't there before. He looks up, into Xaldin's rage-filled face. He is flanked by Vexen and Saïx, both just as mad. Demyx stands behind them, peeking over their shoulders just out of sight."How about," Xaldin barks, "you leave before we even out the other side of your face?"

It is four-against-one, and the guy isn't that drunk to not be able to count the odds. He pushes through the crowds and takes off down the street, shouting abuse and curses at the top his voice. He calls them pussies and the like, with very little creativity. Good riddance.

Demyx looks down the street where the guy ran off to, pulling his arms around himself to keep warm. There is only a slight sign of haze in his eyes now.

"…What did he mean by pimp?"

They all stop, and turn to look at Zexion, a foot away from their little group. The boy looks away, hiding behind his fringe as best he can. The city street suddenly felt very quiet and empty

**OOO**

After the others had left, they look around the streets to hide a place to sit down and, Lexaeus hoped, to talk about what happened. They come across a neon-lit diner that is just about to close, but when the elderly manageress sees how miserable Zexion looks, she smiled and said they could stay until she finished counting the money in the till and cleaned up a little. She even brewed up a quick half-pot of coffee for them on request. Zexion didn't want any, so Lexaeus is now trying to drink as much as he can so as not to waste it.

They are sat in a little booth along the wall with squishy fake leather seats, across the plastic-covered table from one another. In the silence, Lexaeus looks towards the window, but keeps taking quick glances at Zexion to see if he is doing anything. The boy is as motionless as he is emotionless. He just stares down, his hair hiding him from everything around him. Two mugs of de-café later, Lexaeus finally speaks.

"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you, Zexion. I mean, getting that guy and making… a big fuss in front of everyone… I was just worried about you, is all. That guy was being too rough with you. As soon as he put his hands on you, he was committing battery… and I guess I still have my finger on the trigger after all these years."

Zexion still hasn't raised his head. Maybe he is more upset than the older man first thought. He might be crying under that curtain of hair. Lexaeus shook his head and frowned even more. "Zexion, please look at me. I'm not disappointed in you, nor am I going to judge you. It doesn't matter to me if you're a… 'stranger of the night.' I'm ex-police, remember? I've met all sorts of people: drug addicts, thieves, the lot. I'm not to type to prejudge. I won't turn against you just because of your lifestyle-"

Something within Zexion snaps and his head whips up, his single-visible eye staring at Lexaeus with ice-cold irises and small, dilated pupils, expression grim.

The bigger man is surprised, and a little scared. "Zex?"

"You think I like this? To have… dirty, sadistic men pay for my body and never treat me like a person? I am nothing but a doll to them. A sex toy. I feel disgusting every time, and I drag myself home and I bathe and bathe, and never feel clean. Not really. I-I am a whore, and it is horrible to look at myself and see nothing but a creature I despise… And Maxi knows too. For every goddamn night he would lay in bed, waiting for me to return, knowing that his daddy is being fucked raw for money, and is just a common prostitute! It tears me apart when he hugs me and he frowns, saying I smell bad, knowing he means the stench of semen! That's why I'm glad he's friends with Lex now, because now he isn't thinking of me all the time!"

By the end of the outburst, Zexion is on his feet screaming, so he has to sit himself down again and he hides under his hair. Lexaeus is wide-eyed and surprised, and had to look around to make sure the manageress wasn't shocked too, but the old dear just smiles at him and shakes her head like an understanding aunt as she counts her money, as if streetwalkers always come in here and wail about their self-hate.

Lexaeus sighs, and looks back at the boy. "…Zexion, why this? You don't deserve this."

"…It's the only thing I can do," Zexion mumbles, voice breaking. "I have no qualifications because… I never finished school. No one wants to hire someone with no grades."

"But you could always go to college to get those qualifications."

"But I need to look after Maxi during the day, and I wouldn't be able to afford childcare."

"…Maxi isn't in school?"

"…No." Zexion looks up with his eyes, not raising his heavy head. "That sounds horrid, right? Not putting Maxi into school, but I couldn't… I…"

"I'm sure you have your reasons." The conversation is obviously making the boy uncomfortable, and Lexaeus doesn't want to force him into anything that would stress him out. The boy looks worn-out, and he just wants to go home. Lexaeus can't blame him. He looks at his wristwatch to change the subject.

"Look, it's late. Let's just get back home, hm? I'll pay for a cab."

He throws a couple munny onto the table top, leaving a tip, and wishes the café owner good night as he escorts Zexion back into the cool streets. They wander back towards the pubs and clubs again, and manage to find a vacant taxi. The taxi driver seems happy that he has picked up someone else other than drunken children, and doesn't seemed bothered that he has to go out of town.

They sit in the back of the car in silence. Lexaeus sometimes looks over to Zexion, glancing slightly so he didn't look like he was staring, but Zexion never looks up to notice. He keeps his eyes on the floor, and does little else. When a hand rests on his shoulder, the boy jumps and he is confused when he sees Lexaeus smiling at him warmly. His hand is also warm and very big compared to Zexion's arm. The boy remembers that it was the same hand that had punched that guy in the face, and he is surprised that such a strong hand could be so gentle now.

"How about," Lexaeus says quietly, soothingly, "I give you some money every week so you don't to walk the streets anymore?"

Zexion frowns. "Thanks, but I'm not looking for charity, Lexaeus."

"Right then." Lexaeus puts his hands together, palm to palm, thinking. "…How about a loan? You find a safer job, and for the meantime I help you with your rent and necessities? Then you can pay me back when you can." He thinks that he had come up with a winning plan, but Zexion still frowns. With I sigh, Lexaeus smile weakens a little and he sits a little straighter, getting serious. "I don't want you to think I am babying you, Zexion, or that I think you can't handle things yourself. I know that you are very clear, and can look after yourself completely, but I am worried about your safety and well-being, and what would happen to Maxi if something happened to you? Please, at least consider it, because like it or not, I'm your friend and I'm involved with this now."

Zexion finally cracks a smile; a small one, but it's there. "You are not going to leave me alone to I say yes, are you?"

"What do you think?"

The boy laughs. He feels happy. "…Okay then. We can work something out." He pauses for a moment, nibbling his lip. "…I know this is going to sound weird, but can I have a hug?"

Lexaeus blinks, a little confused at first, and he becomes very aware that the taxi driver had glanced at them in the rear view mirror, but when he sees the pleading look on Zexion's tired face, he can't find it in his heart to say no. He just silently opens his arms and lets Zexion shuffle into them, enveloping him in his coat.

None of his friends are the type to hug - well, Demyx is a friendly drunk once he gets going, but that doesn't count - so Lexaeus is a little surprised that he was enjoying this hug, but it is a nice surprise. Very nice indeed.

"Is this alright, Zexion?""Yeah." The boy sighs and smiles, resting his face against the man's warm chest. "I feel much better now." He is content, but he shuffles a bit and finds that he has to hold his breath. Lexaeus smells too delicious for his own good.


End file.
